Inside Saturn, It’s Raining Helium #SpaceSaturday
Science headlines that sound like poetry from the future always satisfy. Space headlines do that the best. In this case the headline is about how the helium rains inside of Saturn may alter its magnetic field. That could just as well be a poem from Cabaret Voltaire as it could be a mind-blowing new astronomical discovery. Here’s more from Astronomy Now:
Saturn’s interior is thought to be made up of a central ice/rock core, surrounded by a layer of electrically conducting metallic hydrogen that generates the dynamo responsible for the planet’s magnetic field. Moving out from the deep interior, the metallic hydrogen transitions to an insulating outer layer consisting mostly of molecular hydrogen.
Based on data collected by Cassini, researchers at Johns Hopkins University conclude the observed magnetic field can best be explained by a transition layer in the deep interior made up of helium “rain.”
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