retroremakes
February 12th, 2010, 12:40
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/02/500x_saturn-aurorae.jpgAt first glance, I thought Mathmos has released a new mood light, but that glowing blue image is actually of Saturn, captured by the Hubble telescope (http://gizmodo.com/tag/hubbletelescope/). It's a very rare photo, as both poles and rings are visible.
You actually just make out the Northern Lights-like aurorae on both poles, which is apparently caused by solar wind (http://gizmodo.com/tag/solarwind/) from the sun mixing up with molecules. Sadly, this is the only chance you'll get at having Saturn's aurorae as your desktop wallpaper, as the angle from which they can be viewed at is only possible twice every 30 years, and the Hubble telescope will no longer be used when the next opportunity comes along.
I feel pretty sad about that, but not as sad as I was when reading xkcd's biography on the life of the Mars Spirit Rover (http://gizmodo.com/5459481/the-most-heart+wrenching-explanation-of-the-mars-spirit-rovers-life-yet). Let's not get our space-set emotional battles mixed up, now. [The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/feb/11/hubble-space-telescope-saturn-auroras)]
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1) http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/NEJ644OjToc
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/NEJ644OjToc/rare-photos-of-saturns-aurorae-captured-for-the-last-time-by-hubble)
You actually just make out the Northern Lights-like aurorae on both poles, which is apparently caused by solar wind (http://gizmodo.com/tag/solarwind/) from the sun mixing up with molecules. Sadly, this is the only chance you'll get at having Saturn's aurorae as your desktop wallpaper, as the angle from which they can be viewed at is only possible twice every 30 years, and the Hubble telescope will no longer be used when the next opportunity comes along.
I feel pretty sad about that, but not as sad as I was when reading xkcd's biography on the life of the Mars Spirit Rover (http://gizmodo.com/5459481/the-most-heart+wrenching-explanation-of-the-mars-spirit-rovers-life-yet). Let's not get our space-set emotional battles mixed up, now. [The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/feb/11/hubble-space-telescope-saturn-auroras)]
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1) http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=NEJ644OjToc:wkH5o0jMV48:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/NEJ644OjToc
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/NEJ644OjToc/rare-photos-of-saturns-aurorae-captured-for-the-last-time-by-hubble)