Erosion compiler ice particles on Saturn's rings caused the formation of rain water that falls into a particular part of the planet. Results of the study published in the Nature journal on April 10, 2013, it explains how the giant planet's rings in Saturn causes rain.
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| NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Saturn on Oct. 17, 2012, while in the planet's shadow. Cassini's cameras were turned toward Saturn and the sun so that the planet and rings are backlit. (Picture from: http://www.space.com/) |
Using the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, scientists discovered that the small ice particles compiler of the planet's rings sometimes experience erosion and accumulate in the upper atmosphere of Saturn. Then water droplets creates a sort of rain on the planet.
"We estimate that as much water as an Olympic-sized swimming pools every day fall into Saturn," said James O'Donoghue, an astronomer at the University of Leicester in the UK and the principal investigator of the study.
Using data from the Keck Observatory, which is collected every two hours during 2011, O'Donoghue and his team can observe a region in the ringed planet, which has not been mapped in detail. They found that the charged water molecules just fall in certain parts of the planet Saturn which is indicated by a darker color in the infrared image.
O'Donoghue found a link between the dark area and parts of Saturn's ice rings that surround the planet. "The most surprising element of our planet is a dark area that appears to be associated with water ice in the rings of Saturn through the magnetic field lines." O'Donoghue said.
Magnetic connection that creates a pathway for small ice particles in the ring to slide into the planet's atmosphere, causing rain ring. After having managed to find the location of the rain ring, O'Donoghue and his team are now able to track how the charged water particles become fragile and erosion. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | LIVESCIENCE | SPACE | TJANDRA DEWI | KORAN TEMPO 4197]
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