Scientists were till date not able to find the exact time of the day of Saturn.
Now the reason has finally arrived. Astronomers have stated that erupting geysers on Saturn’s moon Enceladus are making the force field around Saturn rotate more slowly than the planet itself.
The result of this magnetic field is that measuring the length of the day on Saturn is nearly impossible using normal radio techniques.
The problem was discovered using new data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft which is in orbit around the giant planet.
Astronomers only knew that the planet spins remarkably quickly, in less than 11 hours but the problem was in finding the exact figure.
Cassini has showed that Saturn’s magnetic field lines are being forced to slip by the weight of electrically charged particles from geysers spewing steam and ice on Enceladus. This spew interferes with a standard method of checking the planet’s pulse by observing the rhythm of radio waves that Saturn beams out naturally.
Researchers have stated that no one could have predicted that the little moon can have such an influence on the radio technique that has been used for years to determine the length of the Saturn’s day.
Researchers have also stated that the length of the day on Saturn seems to be slowly changing with the passage of time. The day measured by Cassini is six minutes longer than the day recorded by NASA’s Voyager spacecraft in the early 1980s.
Now researchers are determining a relation between the day at Saturn and the increase in activity of geysers on Enceladus.
Via: skymaina
