Chandra Release - May 25, 2005

Visual Description: Saturn

Two Chandra observations of Saturn (upper panel) show that Saturn's atmosphere acts like a mirror that reflects explosive activity on the Sun (two images shown in the lower panel).  The Sun images look like dark green globes with the right one having a bright white splotch of white across a part of its midsection.  The Chandra images show splotchy blue-green texture with lines overlaying the typical Saturn planet shape.  On January 20, 2004, a large flare erupted on the Sun. The flare lasted for 36 minutes and was detected by radio and optical telescopes, as well as an X-ray telescope (lower panels) aboard GOES-12, one of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites.  About two hours and 14 minutes later, Saturn was observed by Chandra to brighten in X-rays. This time delay corresponds to the difference in time it takes for X-rays, or any other form of light, to make the trip from the Sun to Saturn and back to Earth as opposed to traveling directly from the Sun to the Earth.