The sound of Saturn: listen to the curious "radio broadcasts" of the planet at one of its moons



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BLes – A new study of data collected by NASA's Cbadini spacecraft, which self-destructed last year, shows a surprisingly powerful and dynamic interaction of plasma waves moving from Saturn to its rings and moon Enceladus and now scientists have been able to transform into sound

Observations show for the first time that waves travel in magnetic field lines that connect Saturn directly to Enceladus . The field lines are like an electrical circuit between the two bodies, the energy flowing back and forth.

The researchers converted the recording of plasma waves into an audio file "whooshing" that we can hear, in the same way that a radio translates electromagnetic waves into music.

In other words, Cbadini detected electromagnetic waves in the audio frequency range, and in the ground. We can amplify and reproduce these signals with the help of a speaker. The recording time was compressed from 16 minutes to 28.5 seconds

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Like the air or water, plasma (the fourth state of matter) generates waves to transport energy. The Plasma Radio Wave (RPWS) science instrument aboard NASA's Cbadini spacecraft has recorded intense plasma waves during one of its closest encounters with Saturn

Enceladus is this little generator revolving around Saturn, and we know that it is a source of continuous energy "said Ali Sulaiman, a planet scientist at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and member of the RPWS team

. We now find that Saturn responds by sending signals in the form of of plasma, through the circuit of magnetic field lines that connect it to Enceladus to hundreds of thousands of kilometers "he explained. his moon, Enceladus

Sulaiman is the main author of the two articles describing the results, recently published in Geophysical Research Letters.

The interaction of Saturn and Enceladus is different from the relationship between the Earth and its Moon . Enceladus is immersed in the magnetic field of Saturn and is geologically active: it emits columns of water vapor that ionize and fill Saturn's environment. Our own Moon does not interact in the same way with the Earth. Similar interactions take place between Saturn and its rings, because they are also very dynamic.

The Cbadini spacecraft was put into orbit in 1997 and self destroyed in 2017.

The recording was captured on September 2, 2017, two weeks before Cbadini deliberately submerged in Saturn's atmosphere . The recording was converted by the RPWS team from the University of Iowa, under the direction of RPWS physicist and chief investigator, Bill Kurth.

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