Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Weird Saturn Radio Signals Puzzle Astronomers

Saturn is sending astronomers mixed signals — radio signals, that is.  NASA's Cassini spacecraft recently found that the natural radio wave signals coming from the giant planet differ in the northern and southern hemispheres, a split that can affect how scientists measure the length of a Saturn day. But the weirdness doesn't stop there, researchers say.  The signal variations — which are controlled by the planet's rotation — also change dramatically over time, apparently in sync with the Saturnian seasons.  link

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