Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Jul 26, 2005 16:53:38 GMT -6
Scientists record eerie sounds of Saturn
Saturn’s radio emissions could be mistaken for a Halloween sound track, researchers say.
A recording of these emissions was one of two multimedia treats that Saturn researchers made public this week. The other is a movie of the view as a spacecraft closes in on a moon of Saturn, Enceladus.
The sounds are similar to a Halloween soundtrack, the pair said, but they are informative as well as eerie. They provide clues to “what might be going on in the source of the radio emissions above Saturn’s auroras,” said Kurth.
The changing pitch of the sounds, he said, is probably related to tiny sources of radio waves moving along Saturn’s magnetic field lines.
Scientists still don’t fully understand the phenomenon, he added, but scientists will get another chance to study it in mid-2008. This is when Cassini is scheduled to fly close to, or possibly even through, the source region at Saturn.
Listen here: www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio/
or here: www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/cassini/
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