Posted on 02/11/2007 6:34:29 PM PST by SunkenCiv
UCL researchers have reported findings in the journal 'Nature' that rule out a long-held theory about why the Gas Giants like Saturn have such hot outer atmospheres... A simple calculation to give the expected temperature of a planet's upper atmosphere balances the amount of sunlight absorbed by the energy lost to the lower atmosphere. However, the calculated values don't tally with the actual observations of the gas giants - they are consistently much hotter... The UCL team was investigating this redistribution when they reached their surprising conclusion. By using numerical models of Saturn's atmosphere, the researchers found that there, the net effects of the winds driven by polar energy inputs is not to heat the atmosphere, but to actually cool it equatorward of the heated region... Study author Professor Alan Aylward (UCL Physics & Astronomy) explained: "The aurora has been studied for over a hundred years, yet our discovery takes us back to first principles. We need to re-examine our basic assumptions about planetary atmospheres and what causes the observed heating. Studying what happens on planets such as Saturn gives us an insight into what happens closer to home. Planets can lose their atmospheres as we see with Mars, and by studying what happens in other atmospheres we may find clues to Earth's future."
(Excerpt) Read more at ucl.ac.uk ...
Unexpected cooling effect in Saturn's atmosphere found from January 24, 2007.
Ping
A darn good idea.
The sky seems to have already fallen on Saturn.
Implication being we are next, unless we start minding our p's and q's and do everything the eco-moonbat-terrorists tell us to.
If you want on or off the Electric Universe Ping List, Freepmail me.
As NASA's Cassini spacecraft approached Saturn last July it found evidence that lightning on Saturn is roughly one million times stronger than lightning on Earth. "That's just astonishing to me!" said University of Iowa Space Physicist Don Gurnett, who notes that some radio signals have been linked to storm systems observed by the Cassini imaging instrument.
http://www.holoscience.com/news.php?article=21ha5gh9&keywords=saturn#dest
Thanks for the ping. Gorgeous photo.
Do Saturnians drive SUV's?
Saturn? What would be left? A hairless dog?
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