Catching heat in Saturn’s atmosphere 🪐A mystery that’s unravelling …
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This false-color composite image,
constructed from data obtained by our Cassini spacecraft,
shows the glow of auroras streaking out about 1,000 kilometers or 600 miles from the cloud tops of Saturn's south polar region.⁣
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The upper layers in the atmospheres of gas giants —
Saturn,
Jupiter,
Uranus and Neptune —
are hot,
just like Earth's.
But unlike Earth,
the Sun is too far from these outer planets to account for the high temperatures.
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New analysis of Cassini’s data finds a viable explanation for what's keeping the upper layers of Saturn,
and possibly the other gas giants,
so hot:
auroras at the planet's north and south poles.
Electric currents,
triggered by interactions between solar winds and charged particles from Saturn's moons,
spark the auroras and heat the upper atmosphere.⁣
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Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/ASI/University of Arizona/University of Leicester⁣
⁣ #Saturn #NowYouKnow #Planets #Science #NASA #SolarSystem⁣

"Houston,
we've had a problem."⁣
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It was a mission burdened with problems from the beginning.
But failure was not an option.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission’s oxygen tank explosion which derailed the nation’s third attempt to land on the Moon.⁣
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The explosion nearly left astronauts Jim Lovell,
Jack Swigert and Fred Haise stranded in space.
Fighting to keep their spacecraft alive,
they raced against the clock alongside Mission Control.
To save power,
the crew shut down several critical systems --
including heat.
Quickly,
their Apollo spacecraft became an igloo.
Water condensed onto the computer displays and switches.
Toxic levels of carbon dioxide filled the spacecraft cabin.
Thankfully,
ingenuity,
teamwork and cool heads brought the crew home to a safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on April 18,
1970.
What could have been a tale of tragedy turned into a tale of triumph.
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We remember the lessons of Apollo 13 as we prepare our return to the Moon under our #Artemis program.
Houston,
we're going back.
This time,
to stay.
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Image Credit:
NASA⁣
⁣ #Apollo #NASA #Apollo13 #OTD #SuccessStories #Moon

Caption this.
Here,
we’ll give you some context:
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Pictured here is Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell making final preparations to jettison the Lunar Module that ended up not making it to the Moon.
Fifty years ago,
on April 11,
1970,
Lovell and his two crewmates Jack Swigert and Fred Haise launched on the third lunar landing mission.
But soon they would have a problem.
An exploded oxygen tank on the spacecraft’s service module caused carbon dioxide to build up in the crew cabin.
To save energy,
the crew shut off the spacecraft’s fuel cells.
They were coasting in space –
cold and alone.
But thanks to duct tape,
hoses and ingenuity,
teams at Mission Control helped the crew devise a system that would scrub the toxic gas so they could come home.
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Why is this photo blurry?
The #Hasselblad camera for this shot was intended for lunar surface photography.
But hey –
a space pic is a space pic,
arewerite?
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Tonight we're premiering our Apollo 13 documentary "Home Safe"
at 8pm ET on nasa.gov.
Watch with us!⁣
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Credit:
NASA⁣
Scan courtesy:
Apollo Lunar Surface Journal/Kipp Teague ⁣
⁣ #Apollo13 #crafty #problemsolved #NASAatHome #nasa #space