The NASA Hubble Space Telescope discovered a never-before-seen Saturn ring system phenomenon.
The international space union used HST together with the Saturn observations of the Cassini probe, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and the retired International Ultraviolet Explorer mission.
Their findings revealed that the vast ring system of the gas giant actually heats up its atmosphere.
This new phenomenon is expected to help future space observations, especially when it comes to predicting Saturn-like ring systems on other planets.
NASA Hubble Discovers Never-Before-Seen Saturn Ring Phenomenon!
According to NASA's official blog post, the newly discovered Saturn ring phenomenon can help them create a tool for predicting ring systems in other heavenly bodies.
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Based on the image provided by NASA Hubble, the area aligned to Saturn's ring is in darker blue; indicating that its temperature is higher compared to other areas.
NASA said that the most feasible explanation is that the icy particles of the ring system are raining down onto the planet's atmosphere.
The space organization believes that this is causing the atmosphere to heat up.
"This could be due to the impact of micrometeorites, solar wind particle bombardment, solar ultraviolet radiation, or electromagnetic forces picking up electrically charged dust," said NASA.
Other Saturn-Related Discoveries of NASA
Aside from the ring system of Saturn, NASA is also observing the gas giant's moon, Titan.
The international space organization believes that Titan could hold the clues to the origins of life. Because of this, Space.Com reported that NASA's Dragonfly drone will soon be launched toward Titan.
This new spacecraft is capable of flying several miles between Tita's geological points of interest.
Aside from the latest Saturn ring phenomenon, the NASA Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope also made other discoveries recently.
These include the "star-forming" gas dripping from a jellyfish galaxy, which was captured by HST. Meanwhile, JWST also took a photo of swirling, gritty clouds on a distant exoplanet.
For more news updates about NASA HST and its upcoming space discoveries, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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