Saturn experiences auroras, also known as northern and southern lights, just like Earth. Here, Hubble ultraviolet-light observations of an aurora are superposed on a visible-light image of the planet.
Credits
Image
NASA, ESA, John T. Clarke (Boston University), Zolt G. Levay (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Saturn |
| Distance | The semi-major axis of Saturn's orbit about the sun is 9.5 Astronomical Units (A.U.) or roughly 1.4 billion km. |
| Dimensions | The planet (without rings) has a diameter of roughly 75,000 miles (120,000 km) at the equator. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The Hubble image was created from HST ACS data from proposal : E. Karkoschka and M. Tomasko (Univ. of Arizona) and STIS data from proposal : J.T. Clarke (Boston Univ.) and collaborators. The science team includes: J.T. Clarke (Boston Univ.), J.-C. Gerard and D. Grodent (Univ. de Liege), S. Wannawichian (Boston Univ.), J. Gustin (Univ. de Liege), J. Connerney (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), F. Crary (Southwest Research Institute), M. Dougherty (Imperial College, London), W. Kurth (Univ. of Iowa), S.W.H. Cowley and E.J. Bunce (Univ. of Leicester), T. Hill (Rice Univ.) and J. Kim (Yonsei Univ., Seoul, Korea) |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/HRC and HST>STIS |
| Exposure Dates | ACS/HRC: March 22, 2004; STIS: January 24, 2004 |
| Filters | ACS/HRC: F439W (B), F502N ([O III]), F550W (V), F658N (H-alpha) STIS: 25MAMA (Near-UV) and F25SRF2 (Far-UV) |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
