Saturn and its northern auroras (composite image)
This image is a composite of observations made of Saturn in early 2018 in the optical and of the auroras on Saturn’s north pole region, made in 2017.
In contrast to the auroras on Earth the auroras on Saturn are mainly visible in the ultraviolet — a part of the electromagnetic spectrum blocked by Earth’s atmosphere — and therefore astronomers have to rely on space telescopes like the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study them.
Credit:ESA/Hubble, NASA, A. Simon (GSFC) and the OPAL Team, J. DePasquale (STScI), L. Lamy (Observatoire de Paris)
About the Image
Id: | heic1815a |
Type: | Planetary |
Release date: | 30 August 2018, 16:00 |
Related releases: | heic1815 |
Size: | 2866 x 1764 px |
About the Object
Name: | Saturn |
Type: | Solar System : Planet : Feature : Atmosphere : Aurora |
Category: | Solar System |
Wallpapers
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical Ca II | 395 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical UV | 148 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
STIS |
Optical O III | 502 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical O I + S III | 631 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |