{"id":3724,"date":"2023-08-18T07:31:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T07:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepoetryofscience.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=3724"},"modified":"2023-08-18T07:31:10","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T07:31:10","slug":"the-storms-of-saturn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/thepoetryofscience\/3724\/the-storms-of-saturn\/","title":{"rendered":"The Storms of Saturn"},"content":{"rendered":"

A bracelet
\nof cosmic splendour,
\nbanded clouds
\nwrapped tight with
\nswirling stripes of haze
\nto mask the
\nrage within.
\nTempests prowl
\nbroad rings,
\nravenous brutes
\nwhose chaos-breath
\nengulfs the skies,
\nleaving only absence
\nin their wake.
\nViolent beasts
\nwho come
\nand go
\nas they please,
\ntheir long shadows
\nstill,
\ncreeping,
\nchanging.
\nStorm-ghosts from centuries past,
\nwhose memory burns bright
\nin cloud and wind
\nlong after
\nthey are dead
\nand gone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A huge storm dominates the rather featureless surface of Saturn in an image taken by the Cassini spacecraft on Feb. 25, 2011, about 12 weeks after the powerful storm was first detected in the planet’s northern hemisphere (Image Credit: NASA\/JPL\/Space Science Institute).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This poem is inspired by recent research<\/a>, which has found that mega-storms leave marks on Saturn\u2019s atmosphere for centuries.<\/p>\n

Giant storms are a regular occurrence on Saturn, the ringed gas giant. Every few decades, an enormous eruption will engulf the planet, causing chaos and disruption across Saturn’s atmosphere. These mega-storms have been observed periodically over history, with six massive events being definitively recorded. The reasons behind these gigantic upheavals are still being studied and their long-term impacts are only starting to be understood. What is clear is that they fundamentally shape Saturn’s atmospheric patterns, composition, and weather in their aftermath.<\/p>\n

In this study, researchers found long-lasting effects from Saturn’s past giant storms. Using a large radio telescope array in 2015, they probed the deep atmospheric response to the storms. They discovered lingering signatures from all mid-latitude storms going back hundreds of years, as well as evidence of an older unreported storm at 70\u00b0 north latitude. The research produced a map showing the extended north-south movement over time of the ammonia gas disturbance caused by the storms. Interestingly, the most recent storm in 2010 split into two parts moving in opposite directions, leaving a gap at 43\u00b0 north latitude on Saturn. The study provides new insights into how these massive eruptions continue to shape Saturn’s atmosphere long after they have subsided.<\/p>\n