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Features of Saturn’s Equinox in 2010

  • DYNAMICS AND PHYSICS OF BODIES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
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Abstract—

The equator of Saturn is inclined to the orbital plane by an angle of 26.75°, and the period of revolution around the Sun is 29.45 years. Since the orbital eccentricity of Saturn is e ≈ 0.056 and Saturn passes the perihelion and the aphelion during the summer epoch in its southern and northern hemispheres, respectively, the southern hemisphere receives 25% more energy from the Sun than the northern one. This factor influences the physical characteristics and vertical structure of the atmosphere. Changes on Saturn were registered and they were related to the seasonal influx of the solar energy. To analyze the effect, the results of observations at the equinox moments in 1966, 1980, 1995, and 2010 were used. Latitudinal differences in the absorption by methane across the disk showed a significant asymmetry between the northern and southern hemispheres. Moreover, in the opposite hemispheres, the absorption changes in different ways. Under identical conditions formed in the previous history of the planet in 1966 and 1995, the absorption in the northern summer hemisphere was greater than that in the southern one. A reverse effect was observed in 1980 when the absorption was large in the southern summer hemisphere. The last equinox on Saturn was in 2009. It is supposed that its effect would be similar to the results of 1980. However, in contrast to the pronounced asymmetry in absorption between the hemispheres in 1966, 1980, and 1995, hardly any difference in absorption between the hemispheres was observed during the 2009 equinox. Moreover, in the northern winter hemisphere, the absorption did not decrease, while it markedly increased in the summer southern hemisphere. A peculiar feature of the 2009 equinox itself was that, unlike the previous three equinoxes, it occurred during the solar activity minimum. A joint analysis of the results of observations performed in 1980 and 2010 by the Voyager and Cassini probes, respectively, showed that, for one Saturnian year, the tropical atmosphere in the tropopause warmed up by 10 K. Taking into account these differences and the fact that the solar activity index in 1980 and 2010 was R = 0 and more than 150, respectively, the radiative constant of the hydrogen–helium atmosphere of Saturn is estimated at ~4.5 terrestrial years. However, the warming in the tropopause changed the atmospheric stratification and the stability and influenced the large-scale dynamics of the upper troposphere in 2010.

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  1. http://kardasis.weebly.com/, http://obs.nineplanets.org/obs/obslist.html, http://www.acquerra.com.au/astro/gallery/jupiter/index/

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  1. Main Astronomical Observatory, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 03143, Kyiv, Ukraine

    A. P. Vidmachenko

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Translated by E. Petrova

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Vidmachenko, A.P. Features of Saturn’s Equinox in 2010. Kinemat. Phys. Celest. Bodies 37, 33–40 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0884591321010062

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