Bolt from the Blue: Giant Flash of Lightning Seen in Saturn’s Storm

An enormous storm that wrapped its way around Saturn’s northern hemisphere during the first half of 2011 wasn’t just a churning belt of high-speed winds; it also generated some monster flashes of lightning as well — one of which was captured on camera by the Cassini spacecraft!

Check it out…


The image above was created from Cassini raw images acquired in red, green, and blue color channels and assembled to create a somewhat “true-color” image of Saturn. The image shows the storm as it looked on February 25, 2011, a couple of months after it was first noticed by amateur astronomers on the ground. (The circle at upper left illustrates the comparative size of Earth.)

Read: Studying Saturn’s Super Storm

These images were acquired by Cassini almost two weeks later, on March 6, the first showing a bright blue flash of lightning within the storm, along the eastern edge of a large eddy. The second image, taken 30 minutes later, does not have any visible flash.

Because the flash was only visible in blue light (and there was no red channel data) the images are false color. Near-infrared replaced the visible red channel.

Based on the image resolution (12 miles/20 km per pixel) the size of the lightning flash is estimated to be about 120 miles (200 km) wide — as large as the strongest lightning seen on Earth. And like on Earth, Saturn’s lightning is thought to originate deeper in the atmosphere, at the level where water droplets freeze.

Although the 2011 northern storm was a great feature to observe, this wasn’t the first time lightning had been spotted on Saturn. Cassini had observed flashes on the ringed planet in August of 2009 as well, allowing scientists to create the first movie of lightning flashing on another planet.

Since its arrival at Saturn in 2004, Cassini has detected 10 lightning storms on Saturn — although with up to 10 flashes per second and eventually covering an area of 2 billion square miles (4 billion sq. km) the 2011 storm was by far the largest ever seen.

Image credits: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute. Top composite by J. Major. Video: JPL

Jason Major

A graphic designer in Rhode Island, Jason writes about space exploration on his blog Lights In The Dark, Discovery News, and, of course, here on Universe Today. Ad astra!

Recent Posts

The GALAH Fourth Data Release Provides Vital Data on One Million Stars in the Milky Way.

For the past ten years, Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence in All Sky Astrophysics in…

6 hours ago

The Sun Unleashes its Strongest Flare This Cycle

As we approach the peak of Solar Cycle 25, we can expect more and more…

18 hours ago

What’s the Best Material for a Lunar Tower?

Physical infrastructure on the Moon will be critical to any long-term human presence there as…

1 day ago

What Does a Trip to Mars Do to the Brain?

It’s not long before a conversation about space travel is likely to turn to the…

1 day ago

Could a New Sungrazer Comet Put on a Show at the End of October?

A new sungrazing comet with potential may grace our skies in late October.

2 days ago

Gravitational Lens Confirms the Hubble Tension

Astronomers want new ways to measure distance in the Universe, working to calculate its rate…

2 days ago