Why can't Saturn day be measured?

Strangely, astronomers do not know how many hours a day of Saturn is, because they cannot overcome the obstacle to this giant gas planet.

For a long time, radio measurements of Saturn's magnetic field were made to predict its length. This technique is quite effective for other large planets. However, recent observations show that Saturn's magnetic field lines do not keep up with the speed of turning itself.

Now, scientists know why. The cause of this phenomenon is because the eruptions from Saturn's Enceladus satellites affect the parent planet's magnetic field, so strong that the magnetic field spins more slowly than Saturn itself, although Enceladus is only about 500 kilometers wide. .

"No one would have imagined that the small satellite Enceladus could affect radio technology that had long been used to determine the length of Saturn's day," said Don Gurnett of the University of Iowa.

Thus, the exact length of Saturn is still mysterious, it is only known that its year is more than 29 years long.

(Photo: NaSa)

T. An