Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon

We examine Saturn's atmospheric dynamics with observations in the visible range from ground-based telescopes and Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We present a detailed analysis of observations acquired during 2018 obtaining drift rates of major meteorological systems from the equator to the north...

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Autores: Hueso, Ricardo, Sánchez Lavega, Agustín, Rojas, Jose Félix, Simon, Amy A., Barry, Trevor, del Rio Gaztelurrutia, Teresa, Antuñano, Arrate, Sayanagi, Kunio, Delcroix, M., Fletcher, Leigh N., García Melendo, Enrique José|||0000-0002-3354-1140, Pérez Hoyos, Santiago|||0000-0001-9797-4917, Blalock, J, Colas, Françoise, Gómez Forrellad, Josep Maria, Gunnarson, J. L., Peach, D., Wong, Michael
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/173264
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/173264
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113429
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Saturn (Planet)--Atmosphere
Saturn
Atmosphere
Atmospheres
Dynamics
Saturn (Planeta)--Atmosfera
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica
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spelling Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the HexagonHueso, RicardoSánchez Lavega, AgustínRojas, Jose FélixSimon, Amy A.Barry, Trevordel Rio Gaztelurrutia, TeresaAntuñano, ArrateSayanagi, KunioDelcroix, M.Fletcher, Leigh N.García Melendo, Enrique José|||0000-0002-3354-1140Pérez Hoyos, Santiago|||0000-0001-9797-4917Blalock, JColas, FrançoiseGómez Forrellad, Josep MariaGunnarson, J. L.Peach, D.Wong, MichaelSaturn (Planet)--AtmosphereSaturnAtmosphereAtmospheresDynamicsSaturn (Planeta)--AtmosferaÀrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísicaWe examine Saturn's atmospheric dynamics with observations in the visible range from ground-based telescopes and Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We present a detailed analysis of observations acquired during 2018 obtaining drift rates of major meteorological systems from the equator to the north polar hexagon. A system of polar storms that appeared in the planet in March 2018 and remained active with a complex phenomenology at least until September is analyzed elsewhere (Sánchez-Lavega et al., 2019). Many of the regular cloud features visible in 2018 are long-lived and can be identified in Saturn images in 2017, and in some cases, for up to a decade using also Cassini ISS images. Without considering the polar storms, the most interesting long-lived cloud systems are: i) A bright white spot in the Equatorial Zone that can be tracked continuously since 2014 with minimal changes in its zonal velocity, which was 444.3¿±¿3.1¿m¿s-1 in 2014 and 452.4¿±¿1.7¿m¿s-1 in 2018. This velocity is remarkably different from the zonal winds at the cloud level at its latitude during the Cassini mission, and is closer to zonal winds obtained at the time of the Voyagers flybys and to zonal winds from Cassini VIMS infrared images of the lower atmosphere. ii) A large long-lived Anticyclone Vortex, here AV, that formed after the Great White Spot of 2010–2011. This vortex has changed significantly in visual contrast, drift rate and latitude with minor changes in size over the last years. iii) A system of subpolar vortices at latitudes 60–65°N present at least since 2011. These vortices and additional atmospheric features here studied follow drift rates consistent with zonal winds obtained by Cassini. We also present a study of the positions of the vertices of Saturn's north polar hexagon from 2015 to 2018. These measurements are compared with previous analyses during the Cassini mission (2007–2014), observations with HST in the 90s, and data from the Voyagers in 1980–1981 to explore the long-term variability of the hexagon's drift rate. We find variations in the drift rate of the hexagon through these epochs that can not be fit by seasonal changes in the polar area. Instead, the different drift rates reinforce the role of the North Polar Spot that was present in the Voyager epoch and in the early 90s to cause a faster drift rate of the hexagon at that time compared with the current slower one.20202020-01-1520192019-11-28journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501AMhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_ab4af688f83e57aainfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2117/173264https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113429reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPCinstname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)InglésengMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad http://doi.org/10.13039/501100003329 AYA2015-65041-P DINAMICA, NUBES Y AEROSOLES EN ATMOSFERAS PLANETARIASEuropean Commission http://doi.org/10.13039/100010661 Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 723890 Giants through Time: Towards a Comprehensive Giant Planet Climatologyopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/1732642026-05-27T15:37:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon
title Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon
spellingShingle Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon
Hueso, Ricardo
Saturn (Planet)--Atmosphere
Saturn
Atmosphere
Atmospheres
Dynamics
Saturn (Planeta)--Atmosfera
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica
title_short Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon
title_full Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon
title_fullStr Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon
title_full_unstemmed Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon
title_sort Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Hueso, Ricardo
Sánchez Lavega, Agustín
Rojas, Jose Félix
Simon, Amy A.
Barry, Trevor
del Rio Gaztelurrutia, Teresa
Antuñano, Arrate
Sayanagi, Kunio
Delcroix, M.
Fletcher, Leigh N.
García Melendo, Enrique José|||0000-0002-3354-1140
Pérez Hoyos, Santiago|||0000-0001-9797-4917
Blalock, J
Colas, Françoise
Gómez Forrellad, Josep Maria
Gunnarson, J. L.
Peach, D.
Wong, Michael
author Hueso, Ricardo
author_facet Hueso, Ricardo
Sánchez Lavega, Agustín
Rojas, Jose Félix
Simon, Amy A.
Barry, Trevor
del Rio Gaztelurrutia, Teresa
Antuñano, Arrate
Sayanagi, Kunio
Delcroix, M.
Fletcher, Leigh N.
García Melendo, Enrique José|||0000-0002-3354-1140
Pérez Hoyos, Santiago|||0000-0001-9797-4917
Blalock, J
Colas, Françoise
Gómez Forrellad, Josep Maria
Gunnarson, J. L.
Peach, D.
Wong, Michael
author_role author
author2 Sánchez Lavega, Agustín
Rojas, Jose Félix
Simon, Amy A.
Barry, Trevor
del Rio Gaztelurrutia, Teresa
Antuñano, Arrate
Sayanagi, Kunio
Delcroix, M.
Fletcher, Leigh N.
García Melendo, Enrique José|||0000-0002-3354-1140
Pérez Hoyos, Santiago|||0000-0001-9797-4917
Blalock, J
Colas, Françoise
Gómez Forrellad, Josep Maria
Gunnarson, J. L.
Peach, D.
Wong, Michael
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Saturn (Planet)--Atmosphere
Saturn
Atmosphere
Atmospheres
Dynamics
Saturn (Planeta)--Atmosfera
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica
topic Saturn (Planet)--Atmosphere
Saturn
Atmosphere
Atmospheres
Dynamics
Saturn (Planeta)--Atmosfera
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica
description We examine Saturn's atmospheric dynamics with observations in the visible range from ground-based telescopes and Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We present a detailed analysis of observations acquired during 2018 obtaining drift rates of major meteorological systems from the equator to the north polar hexagon. A system of polar storms that appeared in the planet in March 2018 and remained active with a complex phenomenology at least until September is analyzed elsewhere (Sánchez-Lavega et al., 2019). Many of the regular cloud features visible in 2018 are long-lived and can be identified in Saturn images in 2017, and in some cases, for up to a decade using also Cassini ISS images. Without considering the polar storms, the most interesting long-lived cloud systems are: i) A bright white spot in the Equatorial Zone that can be tracked continuously since 2014 with minimal changes in its zonal velocity, which was 444.3¿±¿3.1¿m¿s-1 in 2014 and 452.4¿±¿1.7¿m¿s-1 in 2018. This velocity is remarkably different from the zonal winds at the cloud level at its latitude during the Cassini mission, and is closer to zonal winds obtained at the time of the Voyagers flybys and to zonal winds from Cassini VIMS infrared images of the lower atmosphere. ii) A large long-lived Anticyclone Vortex, here AV, that formed after the Great White Spot of 2010–2011. This vortex has changed significantly in visual contrast, drift rate and latitude with minor changes in size over the last years. iii) A system of subpolar vortices at latitudes 60–65°N present at least since 2011. These vortices and additional atmospheric features here studied follow drift rates consistent with zonal winds obtained by Cassini. We also present a study of the positions of the vertices of Saturn's north polar hexagon from 2015 to 2018. These measurements are compared with previous analyses during the Cassini mission (2007–2014), observations with HST in the 90s, and data from the Voyagers in 1980–1981 to explore the long-term variability of the hexagon's drift rate. We find variations in the drift rate of the hexagon through these epochs that can not be fit by seasonal changes in the polar area. Instead, the different drift rates reinforce the role of the North Polar Spot that was present in the Voyager epoch and in the early 90s to cause a faster drift rate of the hexagon at that time compared with the current slower one.
publishDate 2019
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2019
2019-11-28
2020
2020-01-15
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
AM
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_ab4af688f83e57aa
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2117/173264
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113429
url https://hdl.handle.net/2117/173264
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113429
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad http://doi.org/10.13039/501100003329 AYA2015-65041-P DINAMICA, NUBES Y AEROSOLES EN ATMOSFERAS PLANETARIAS
European Commission http://doi.org/10.13039/100010661 Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 723890 Giants through Time: Towards a Comprehensive Giant Planet Climatology
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
instname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
instname_str Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
reponame_str UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
collection UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,300724

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