New images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed what appear to be strange spots on the rings of the planet Saturn – and scientists are baffled. According to them, there are several theories about the signs.
Scientists at the US National Space Agency, NASA, first noticed the spots more than four decades ago during the Voyager mission sometime in the 1980s, but remained without answers. The space telescope recorded the same strange signs about 15 years ago, during the “Cassini” mission. According to the researchers, the spots were previously detected in the years before and after the equinox of the planet Saturn. They say the planet’s next autumnal equinox is set to begin on May 6, 2025, and the spots could appear about four years before that. The Hubble Space Telescope will continue to track the spokes. Watch the documentary from space:
What is hidden behind the spokes?
The team of NASA scientists plans to use the images to better understand the cause of the mysterious spots and why they are seasonal. Saturn’s spokes,” said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon.
According to her, although the cause of the seasonal signs is still unknown, experts have several theories. According to them, the main suspect in the formation of the spots is the Earth’s changing magnetic field, according to NASA.
Strange spots on the rings of the planet Saturn (Photo: Reuters)
By accumulating more recent images into the data archive from the Voyager and Cassini missions, NASA hopes to crack the mysterious phenomenon once and for all.