NASA's Cassini spacecraft has recently observed a beautiful light show across Saturn's southern hemisphere. Similarly to auroras on Earth, Saturn's striking auroras are formed when charged particles collide with the planet's atmosphere and create light. These charged particles originate from the solar wind, a steady stream of material emanating from the Sun.
The video from NASA shows the 'ghostly curtains of light' billowing through Saturn's atmosphere. This black-and-white video was captured on July 20. The technicolour photograph that serves as the background was taken in 2008 in near-infrared light. It is false-coloured to highlight the ring of auroras around the planet's pole.
"Some of the stars seem to make a slight turn to the right just before disappearing," officials said in the statement. "This effect is due to refraction — the starlight gets bent as it passes through the atmosphere, which acts as a lens. Some of the stars seem to make a slight turn to the right just before disappearing. Random bright specks and streaks appearing from frame to frame are due to charged particles and cosmic rays hitting the camera detector."
Read more about this fascinating story at: https://www.space.com/37667-saturn-ghostly-aurora-cassini-photo.html
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