Electrons flying 'backwards' in Saturn's sky

User rating: 4.4 / 5 after 18 vote(s)

Beware - particle rays Researchers have measured electron rays using the instrument MIMI on the Cassini Space Probe. These rays fly quotbackwardsquot - that is away from rather than toward the planet Saturn in its polar region. Image: University of C ...
Beware - particle rays! Researchers have measured electron rays, using the instrument MIMI on the Cassini Space Probe. These rays fly "backwards" - that is, away from, rather than toward, the planet Saturn, in its polar region. Image: University of Cologne / Joachim Saur

We can see polar lights on Earth when electrons above the atmosphere are accelerated downwards. They light up when they hit the upper atmosphere. Some years ago, researchers discovered that electrons inside the polar region can also be accelerated away from the Earth - that is, "backwards". These anti-planetary electrons do not cause the sky to light up, and scientists have been puzzled about how they originate.


Full story »
All News summaries from Physics news
All News summaries for March 06, 2006

Electron microscopy enters the picometer scale

1 minute ago | User rating: not rated yet
Jülich scientists have succeeded in precisely measuring atomic spacings down to a few picometres using new methods in ultrahigh-resolution electron microscopy. This makes it possible to find out decisive parameters ...

Revolutionary materials reflect ancient forms

46 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Although order is pleasing to the eye, it can quickly become boring. In Islamic architecture therefore, decoration often follows a strict yet aperiodic pattern. Similar structures also form ...

Shielding for ambitious neutron experiment

6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
In science fiction stories it is either the inexhaustible energy source of the future or a superweapon of galactic magnitude: antimaterial. In fact, antimaterial can neither be found on Earth nor in space, is extremely complex ...

New Membrane Model May Unlock Secrets of Early-Stage Alzheimer's

Jul 23, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and three collaborating institutions are using a new laboratory model of the membrane surrounding neurons in the brain to study how a protein ...

Sandia to Demonstrate Hyperspectral Confocal Fluorescence Microscope

Jul 23, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Sandia National Laboratories will demonstrate a new hyperspectral confocal fluorescence microscope Friday, Aug. 8 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. MDT in Bldg. 897 on Kirtland Air Force Base. This patent-protected and patent-pending technology ...
Goto Archive PhysOrg Forum Goto Archive Video Goto Archive Editorials Goto Archive Free Magazines Goto Archive Newsletter

News Archive