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Space Science

Massive Lightning Storm on Saturn 46

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the scientists-all-charged-up dept.
Aielman writes to tell us Yahoo News is reporting that Researchers are tracking a gigantic electrical storm on Saturn that has released lightning bolts more than one thousand times stronger than those found on Earth. The storms where first spotted earlier this year from the Cassini probe and since that time scientists have recorded 35 consecutive episodes each lasting about ten hours.
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Massive Lightning Storm on Saturn More

Massive Lightning Storm on Saturn

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  • Lovely Summer Months in Southern Saturn (Score:5, Informative)

    by eldavojohn ( 898314 ) * <eldavojohnNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @11:24AM (#14724974) Journal
    These storms (and their cycles) are old news [solarviews.com]. Hubble spotted them back in 1990, the only new information we have today is how strong the lightening is. From the Solar Views article:
    Although these events were separated by about 57 years (approximately 2 Saturnian years) there is yet no explanation why they apparently follow a cycle -- occurring when it is summer in Saturn's northern hemisphere.
    Now that'd be interesting to know how these storms work on a two planet year cycle as our monsoons and other weather phenomenon seem to primarily operate on single planet year cycles. This area has been nicknamed "Storm Alley [nasa.gov]."

    For more information on how the bands that show up on Saturn reflect weather patterns, check out the weather section on this planet at NJU [nju.edu.cn].

    The planet's got 30 named satellites and the most prominent feature a belt of dust and debris. I'm sure there's a lot of factors at play here--probably more than our own atmosphere. There's a lot of talk about cosmic rays [newscientist.com] actually being the cause of lightning on both Jupiter and Saturn but this topic is heavily debated [sciencedaily.com].
    • As I understand your links, this is really old news, dating back 114 years (or 130 or something -- I'm confused about the timeline). I don't know if the two year cycle is as clear-cut as you're saying it is, given the relatively small number of Saturn years observed, spotty astronomical coverage (I'd guess) in the 19th century and the fact that we're now seeing them 16 Earth years apart. Maybe they're yearly, but by chance severe storms have popped up every other year during the last six years?

      • Re:Lovely Summer Months in Southern Saturn (Score:5, Insightful)

        by east coast ( 590680 ) on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @12:02PM (#14725304)
        I don't know if the two year cycle is as clear-cut as you're saying it is, given the relatively small number of Saturn years observed

        That is the problem in research, how long do you observe something until you can seperate coincidence with what is truely a pattern. Look at global warming, there is a lot of evidence to come to the conclusion that it's human dickering but there is also the question of this maybe being part of a natural cycle. Until we get our hands on a large portion of first hand obsevred data it's going to be hard to come to a firm conclusion.

        George Carlin once said it was arrogant of us to think that we can change the planet let alone save it. Maybe he's right. But for now you need to take the data at hand and start to work on theories about what might be going on and apply whatever solution may be needed. In the case of Saturn I think we're pretty far from needing to worry about it much.

        • Re:Lovely Summer Months in Southern Saturn (Score:4, Insightful)

          by cowscows ( 103644 ) on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @01:09PM (#14725866) Journal
          Following a little further off topic, you're hinting at the biggest problem we have with the whole Global Warming debate. There are two extremes, either we're totally wrecking the planet, or it's all a natural cycle that we're too insignificant to affect. The loudest voices in the debate are generally arguing one of the two extremes, and neither extreme position is terribly useful for collecting good data or presenting real solutions.

          And the truth is probably somewhere in between. Why a more realistic and sensible look at the available information doesn't seem to motivate anyone is a mystery to me.
          • Why a more realistic and sensible look at the available information doesn't seem to motivate anyone is a mystery to me.

            I don't doubt that someone has but with the forces of industry and the environmental lobby pushing on them it may be easy to repress...

            But if it hasn't been done it may be hard to get a grant that would be needed for this reseach because of the same forces that would repress the data anyway.
          • The loudest voices in the debate are generally arguing one of the two extremes, and neither extreme position is terribly useful for collecting good data or presenting real solutions.

            The loudest voices in this debate are the industrial lobby. The industrial lobby tries to make it look like the environmental lobby and the scientists are making unreasonable predictions -- because that's easier to argue against.

            Most scientists and members of the environmental lobby are clear that we can't totally ruin the

            • To play devil's advocate, the "scientific community" has believed a lot of things that made perfect sense when one analyzed the available data using the available technology, and no matter how we advanced, no matter what else we learned, we found out that what we previously thought we knew was almost always wrong or, at best partially correct but incomplete.

              I am unwilling at this point to agree with all of the following: (1) global warming is happening (2) its causes are anthropomorphic (3) the recommende

              • If you're driving at 60 miles an hour and someone tells you that, just past that dip in the road is a sudden 100foot drop, do you slow down until you're sure, or do you continue to barrel along at 60 miles per hour until you can see over the crest of the hill (at which point it may be too late to stop)??

                The 'things that science was wrong about' can, for the vast majority of them be placed into two categories:

                1. Things that we've always believed in just because we were told so. These things should, more
        • George Carlin said that we can't permanently damage the planet. He acknowledged that we can damage the planet enough to cause the planet to "shake us (humans) off like fleas" and then eventually recover from our being here. The planet and life would go on but humanity and civilization on this planet the way we know it would not be the same.
    • Now that'd be interesting to know how these storms work on a two planet year cycle as our monsoons and other weather phenomenon seem to primarily operate on single planet year cycles.

      A Saturn year is 29.46 Earth years, so one Saturn year ago, Earth may not have been in a good position for us to observe the storms. Maybe.

  • Mage (Score:5, Funny)

    by nmccart ( 952969 ) on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @11:25AM (#14724987) Homepage
    What level does your mage have to be to call down a lightning storm of that magnitude?

  • In other news.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @11:26AM (#14724992) Homepage Journal
    Members of Saturn's DeLorean owners' association report that thanks to the storms, their cars are disappearing into Time left and right.

  • Death by lightning bolts. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Bnderan ( 801928 ) on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @11:31AM (#14725030)
    lightning bolts more than one thousand times stronger than those found on Earth. So if you got hit by one, it would kill you like ... a thousand times worse. NASA better do something about this!

  • One possible explanation (Score:4, Funny)

    by Billosaur ( 927319 ) * <wgrother AT optonline DOT net> on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @11:54AM (#14725234) Journal
    Thundercats, HOOOOOOOOO!!!

  • war (Score:3, Funny)

    by Surt ( 22457 ) on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @01:04PM (#14725824) Homepage Journal
    It's really just a war between the grey-on-the-left cloud beings and grey-on-the-right cloud beings. Go righties!

  • I am the only logical choice. (Score:3, Funny)

    by hockpatooie ( 312212 ) on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @01:11PM (#14725882)
    My superior Vulcan physiology will allow me to withstand lightning surges a thousand times stronger than what is found on your native world. Therefore, I am the only logical choice to investigate this phenomenon. I will fly a standard shuttlecraft into the atmosphere of Saturn, climb out on the roof while the craft is in motion, and hold aloft a Terran golf club in order to be struck by this lightning and study its effects. I have programmed the shuttlecraft to return to the starship automatically in the event that I do not survive the lighting strike.

    Please do not try to stop me. A Vulcan is always prepared to sacrifice himself for the good of the many. It is only logical. Your fragile human makeup would not even be able to withstand the atmosphere of Saturn, much less the electrical energy produced by lighting a thousand times more powerful than that found on your own small homeworld.
    • I will fly a standard shuttlecraft into the atmosphere of Saturn, climb out on the roof while the craft is in motion, and hold aloft a Terran golf club in order to be struck by this lightning and study its effects.
      Please remember not to use a one-iron. Even Saturn can't hit a one-iron.

  • Could it be... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Sux2BU ( 20893 ) * on Wednesday February 15, 2006 @01:30PM (#14726025)
    Global warming?

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