Astronomers, using the James Webb Space Telescope, conducted a new study of Saturn’s atmosphere and came across unexpected results. Unusual structures have been discovered in the upper layers of the gas giant, which are likely to be interconnected, but so far remain unclear. The results were presented by Professor Tom Stallard from Northumbria University (UK) at the EPSC-DPS2025 joint conference in Helsinki, reports Phys.
The main attention of scientists was focused on the study of infrared radiation of the positively charged hydrogen molecule H3+, which plays a key role in chemical processes in Saturn’s atmosphere and helps to understand the physics of its inner layers.
Observations showed H3+ radiation in the planet’s ionosphere at an altitude of about 1100 km, as well as methane in the stratosphere about 600 km above the conventional surface. At the same time, astronomers recorded in the plasma of the ionosphere several dark structures, similar to beads, which were inside the aurora borealis. They remained stable for several hours and gradually shifted.
Another find was a shape similar to a six-pointed star that stretched from the north pole of the planet to the equator. Such formations have not been observed before either on Saturn or on any other planet of the Solar System.
Both types of structures are located in the same region of the atmosphere, but at different altitudes. According to the researchers, the dark “beads” may arise due to the complex interaction between Saturn’s magnetosphere and its rotating atmosphere, which in turn provides a new understanding of the aurora formation processes. The presence of a star-like structure indicates previously unknown processes in the stratosphere, which are probably related to wave-like movements in the deeper layers of the planet’s atmosphere.
