Saturn's Lightning-1 Million Times Stronger Than Earth's

[Saul Trabal]

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1448772004

According to the info at this link, new data from the Cassini spacecraft says that lightning on Saturn is 1 million times stronger than Earth's lightning.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

That makes Saturn's lightning the most powerful lightning in the solar system-so far. We still don't know about Uranus and Neptune.

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[Khristian Snyder]

But even terrestrial lightning can deliver between 100 million and one billion volts of electricity.

wow!!!....that would be amazing to watch, but from a safe distance of course. :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Saul Trabal]

But even terrestrial lightning can deliver between 100 million and one billion volts of electricity.

wow!!!....that would be amazing to watch, but from a safe distance of course. :shock: :shock: :shock:

And what WOULD a safe distance be?? :lol:

Jupiter's lightning, by comparison, is only 1,000 times more powerful than Earth's.

:shock:

 

[Todd Rittinger]

And what WOULD a safe distance be??

Approximately 1.3 billion kilometers? *grin*

Be well, TR

 

[Saul Trabal]

I'd imagine that the thunder would be so loud that it would destroy your ears.

What would happen if a Saturnian lightning bolt struck a city like Chicago or New York?

:shock:

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Since lightning on Earth turns sand into glass I bet Saturn is like a huge marble by now. Sounds like a bad Tesla experiment!

 

[Saul Trabal]

Since lightning on Earth turns sand into glass I bet Saturn is like a huge marble by now. Sounds like a bad Tesla experiment!

...except that Saturn is a giant ball of liquid hydrogen, with 1,000 mph winds.

:wink:

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Makes you wonder what would cause that much instability in its atmosphere to cause lightning that strong.

 

[Khristian Snyder]

^^good question.

 

[Saul Trabal]

Makes you wonder what would cause that much instability in its atmosphere to cause lightning that strong.

Actually, I think the answer is pretty simple.

***RADICAL*** difference in air temperature.

The air temperature near the top of Saturn's atmosphere must be around -300 degrees Fahrenheit. Remember-Saturn's moon Titan has a surface temperature of -289 degrees Fahrenheit.

So, the temperature difference between the upper and lower depths in Saturn's atmosphere may be as much as 800 to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, it may depend on the season. When Voyager visited Saturn in the early 1980s, it detected more thunderstorm activity. But now, the planet's rings are casting a deep shadow over the same area, and there is supposedly less thunderstorm activity because of this.

Still, given the Sun's distance from Saturn-close to 1,700 million miles-I seriously wonder if the Sun can affect the planet's weather all that much. Saturn's scalding global ocean of liquid hydrogen plays a larger part in the planet's weather, I think.

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Well, that somewhat clears it up. Saul, did/do you study astronomy?

 

[Angie Norris]

We briefly (like maybe about 3 minutes) discussed the weather on Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn in Astronomy class right before the end of the semester...some interesting stuff out there. This is something I could definitely get into. Where are the best sites for more info?
Angie

 

[Saul Trabal]

Well, that somewhat clears it up. Saul, did/do you study astronomy?

Actually, I'm a writer. 8)

My site:

http://users.erols.com/strabal/creations.html

I've been fascinated with violent weather since I was a kid-and when I started reading up about weather on other planets, it blew my mind. :shock:

I like to read. I've read quite a bit on astronomy. I wish there were more books on interplanetary meteorology. I've gotten my info from various books as well as visiting web sites and BBSes dedicated to astronomy.

8)

 

[Saul Trabal]

We briefly (like maybe about 3 minutes) discussed the weather on Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn in Astronomy class right before the end of the semester...some interesting stuff out there. This is something I could definitely get into. Where are the best sites for more info?
Angie

Best sites??

Wow, that's a damn good question! Ironically, I haven't had much time lately to do searches on stuff like that because I've been busy working on a horror/sf story for publication.

However, the Discovery Channel showed an EXCELLENT program called Planet Storm-which talked about alien weather on other planets. There was a FANTASTIC Jupiter segment, which had some wild computer animation that showed what Jovian thunderstorms might be like. There was a hypothetical scene which had a plane flying in the midst of Jovian thunderstorms-and the thunderheads were so violent that they knocked the plane out the sky with a bolt of lightning! :shock:

Jupiter's thunderheads can grow to 50 miles in height, and as much as 2,500 miles wide.

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[Saul Trabal]

Angie,

Here's a few links on Jovian thunderstorms:

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/solar/wjupstorm.htm

http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Feb00....storm.bpf.html

http://www.earthsky.com/shows/showsmore.php?t=20010610

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