JWST Solves Decades-Long Mystery About Why Saturn Appears to Change Its Spin

"We Knew Something Strange Was Happening": Saturn’s Northern Lights Drive a Planetary ‘Heat Engine,’ Solving Decades-Long Rotation Mystery

Astronomers have long been intrigued by planet Saturn, and new research is revealing how a decades-long mystery involving the ringed planet’s spin has finally been solved.  Led by a team of researchers at Northumbria University, the mystery lies at the core of the planet, heated and charged by its aurora. According to new research, the entire system is driven by a self-sustaining feedback loop powered by the planet’s own northern lights. The dis…

Northumbria University experts solve longstanding Saturn mystery

North East experts have helped solve a longstanding planetary science mystery—thanks to Saturn's glowing auroras.

JWST solves decades-long mystery about why Saturn appears to change its spin

Researchers at Northumbria University have used the most powerful space telescope ever built to answer one of the longest-standing puzzles in planetary science—why does Saturn appear to spin at a different speed depending on how you measure it? The findings, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, reveal for the first time the complex patterns of heat and electrically charged particles in Saturn's aurora, and show that t…

JWST explains Saturn spin changes—how?

JWST solves the Saturn spin mystery Researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to address a long running question in planetary science: why Saturn appears to change its spin. The study applies JWST’s infrared capabilities to track dynamics in Saturn’s atmosphere, where winds and circulation…