Aurora on Saturn

Description

Hubble Space Telescope image of aurorae (blue) encircling Saturn’s south pole. Aurora are produced by the interaction of the solar wind with a planet’s atmosphere. Charged particles collide with rarefied gases in the atmosphere, causing them to emit light. On Saturn, as on Earth, they occur in polar regions. This is because the magnetic field of the planet channels the charged particles to these regions. This image was taken on 24th January 2004. (Photo by Science Photo Library)