Saturn’s Youthful Appearance Explained
As planets age they become darker and cooler. Saturn, however, is much brighter than expected for a planet of its age — a question that has puzzled scientists since the late sixties.
New research published in the journal Nature Geoscience [http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v6/n5/full/ngeo1791.html] has revealed how Saturn keeps itself looking young and hot.
Researchers from the University of Exeter and the Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon found that layers of gas, generated by physical instability deep within the giant planet, prevent heat from escaping and have resulted in Saturn failing to cool down at the expected rate.
Professor Gilles Chabrier from Physics & Astronomy at the University of Exeter said: “Scientists have been wondering for years if Saturn was using an additional source of energy to look so bright, but instead our calculations show that Saturn appears young because it can’t cool down. Instead of heat being transported throughout the planet by large scale (convective) motions, as previously thought, it must be partly transferred by diffusion across different layers of gas inside Saturn. These separate layers effectively insulate the planet and prevent heat from radiating out efficiently. This keeps Saturn warm and bright.”
Characterized by its distinctive rings, Saturn is one of the largest planets in our solar system, second only in size to massive Jupiter. It is primarily made of hydrogen and helium and its excessive brightness has previously been attributed to helium rains, the result of helium failing to mix with Saturn’s hydrogen rich atmosphere.
Layered convection, like that recently discovered in Saturn, has been observed in the Earth’s oceans where warm, salty water lies beneath cool and less salty water. The denser, salty water prevents vertical currents forming between the different layers and so heat cannot be transported efficiently upwards.
These findings suggest that the interior structure, composition and thermal evolution of giant planets in our solar system, and beyond, may be much more complex than previously thought.
This work was funded by the European Research Council.
Contact:
Dr. Jo Bowler
University of Exeter Press Office
+44 (0)1392 722062, cell: +44(0)7827 309 332
j.bowler@exeter.ac.uk
The Sunday Times University of the Year 2012-13, the University of Exeter is a Russell Group university and in the top one percent of institutions globally. It combines world-class research with very high levels of student satisfaction. Exeter has over 18,000 students and is ranked 7th in The Sunday Times University Guide, 10th in the UK in The Times Good University Guide 2012 and 10th in the Guardian University Guide. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 90% of the University’s research was rated as being at internationally recognized levels and 16 of its 31 subjects are ranked in the top 10, with 27 subjects ranked in the top 20.
