Saturn: Rain Over Me!

A new study by scientists at University of Leicester, England, reveals that the Saturn's rings cause rain of charged water particles into its atmosphere. The study, whose observations were funded by NASA reveals that the rain falls over a large portion which influences the composition and temperature structure of parts of Saturn's upper atmosphere. The paper appears in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/University of Leicester

“Saturn is the first planet to show significant interaction between its atmosphere and ring system," said James O’Donoghue, the paper's lead author and a postgraduate researcher at Leicester. “The main effect of ring rain is that it acts to 'quench' the ionosphere of Saturn. In other words, this rain severely reduces the electron densities in regions in which it falls."

O’Donoghue explains that the ring's effect on electron densities is important because it explains why, for many decades, observations have shown those densities to be unusually low at certain latitudes on Saturn. The study also helps scientists better understand the origin and evolution of Saturn's ring system and changes in the planet's atmosphere.