토성의 이상한 반지

작성자: Space Telescope Science Institute2023년 4월 1일

베테랑 천문학자는 토성의 광대한 고리 시스템이 행성의 상층 대기를 가열하고 있다는 사실을 발견했는데, 이는 우리 태양계에서는 이전에 관찰된 적이 없는 현상입니다. 연구진은 NASA의 허블 우주망원경, 카시니 탐사선, 보이저 1호와 2호, 국제자외선탐사선(International Ultraviolet Explorer) 등 여러 우주 임무에서 얻은 40년간의 자외선 데이터를 분석함으로써 얼음 고리 입자가 토성의 대기에 비처럼 쏟아져 가열을 일으킨다는 사실을 발견했습니다. 이 획기적인 발견은 행성과 고리 사이의 예상치 못한 상호 작용을 강조할 뿐만 아니라 이 정보를 사용하여 외계 행성 주위에 토성과 같은 고리 시스템의 존재를 예측할 수 있는 가능성을 열어줍니다.

The planet SaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the sun and has the second-largest mass in the Solar System. It has a much lower density than Earth but has a much greater volume. Saturn's name comes from the Roman god of wealth and agriculture." data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]">Saturn is easily recognizable for its opulent ring system that can easily be seen through a small telescope. Astronomers have now found that the rings are not as placid as they look. The icy rings particles are raining down onto Saturn's atmosphere. This is heating the upper atmosphere. It took a collection of 40 years’ worth of Saturn observations, gleaned from four NASAEstablished in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion." NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals." data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]">NASA planetary missions to come to this conclusion. Hubble Space TelescopeThe Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as Hubble or HST) is one of NASA's Great Observatories and was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990. It is one of the largest and most versatile space telescopes in use and features a 2.4-meter mirror and four main instruments that observe in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It was named after astronomer Edwin Hubble." data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]"> 허블 우주 망원경 관측은 자외선으로 수집된 모든 증거를 하나로 묶는 데 사용되었습니다. 이러한 결과는 유사한 고리 시스템이 다른 별을 공전하는 행성을 둘러싸고 있는지 확인하는 데 적용될 수 있습니다. 그들의 고리는 너무 멀리 떨어져 있어서 볼 수 없지만 행성의 자외선 분광법을 사용하면 단서를 얻을 수 있습니다.

2021년 9월 12일 토성에 대한 허블의 모습은 초가을이었던 행성 북반구의 띠의 빠르고 극단적인 색상 변화를 보여줍니다. 밴드는 2019년과 2020년 허블 관측 전반에 걸쳐 다양했습니다. 특히 1981년 보이저 2호 우주선에 의해 처음 발견된 토성의 상징적인 육각형 폭풍은 2020년에는 구별하기 어려웠지만 2021년에는 다시 분명하게 드러납니다. 허블의 토성 이미지는 남반구의 겨울이 끝난 후 남극의 푸른 빛이 남아있는 행성입니다. 출처: NASA, ESA, A. Simon(NASA-GSFC) 및 MH Wong(UC Berkeley); 이미지 처리: A. Pagan(STScI)

The most feasible explanation is that icy ring particles raining down onto Saturn's atmosphere cause this heating. This could be due to the impact of micrometeorites, solar wind particle bombardment, solar ultraviolet radiation, or electromagnetic forces picking up electrically charged dust. All this happens under the influence of Saturn's gravitational field pulling particles into the planet. When NASA's CassiniThe Cassini–Huygens Mission, generally called Cassini, was a joint mission between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency to study the Saturn system. Launched in 1997, Cassin provided astronomers with a massive amount of data about Saturn and its rings, its magnetosphere, and its moons. Cassini reached the end of its journey in 2017 when it deliberately dived into Saturn's atmosphere, where it disintegrated like a meteor." data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]"Cassini probe plunged into Saturn's atmosphere at the end of its mission in 2017, it measured the atmospheric constituents and confirmed that many particles are falling in from the rings./p>

Ben-Jaffel's conclusion required pulling together archival ultraviolet-light (UV) observations from four space missions that studied Saturn. This includes observations from the two NASA Voyager probes that flew by Saturn in the 1980s and measured the UV excess. At the time, astronomers dismissed the measurements as noise in the detectors. The Cassini mission, which arrived at Saturn in 2004, also collected UV data on the atmosphere (over several years). Additional data came from Hubble and the International Ultraviolet Explorer, which launched in 1978, and was an international collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space AgencyThe European Space Agency (ESA) is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the exploration and study of space. ESA was established in 1975 and has 22 member states, with its headquarters located in Paris, France. ESA is responsible for the development and coordination of Europe's space activities, including the design, construction, and launch of spacecraft and satellites for scientific research and Earth observation. Some of ESA's flagship missions have included the Rosetta mission to study a comet, the Gaia mission to create a 3D map of the Milky Way, and the ExoMars mission to search for evidence of past or present life on Mars." data-gt-translate-attributes="[{"attribute":"data-cmtooltip", "format":"html"}]"European Space Agency), and the United Kingdom's Science and Engineering Research Council./p>

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