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look.  Hubble telescope sees mysterious dark spots moving in Saturn's rings  Science and the planet

look. Hubble telescope sees mysterious dark spots moving in Saturn's rings Science and the planet

The Hubble Space Telescope captured images of moving dark spots in Saturn's rings in October 2023. These strangely shaped shadows were first observed in 1984 by Voyager 2. They will become more common and darker in the coming years. But where do these mysterious spots come from?


Martin Peters



source:
com.iflscience

In 1984, Voyager 2 flew by Saturn and captured stunning images of the gas giant of a quality we had never seen before. These images also showed strange dark spots in the planet's rings. It was shaped like the spokes of a wheel. These spots have since been observed by Cassini and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Dark spokes are not always visible on the rings. They seem to last only two or three orbits around Saturn. Although it looks small in pictures, its width and length can be larger than the diameter of the Earth. Hubble also revealed that the number of times a speaker occurs varies depending on Saturn's seasons. For example, they often occur in the Saturnian summer, which lasts at least 7 Earth years.

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What causes dark spots in Saturn's rings?
What causes dark spots in Saturn's rings? © NASA

But what causes dark spots? Scientists suspect that Saturn's strong magnetic field is responsible for this. Some interaction between the solar wind and magnetic field likely creates these wires when the rings tilt toward the Sun in summer.

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