• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Streaks On Saturn's Rings Made By Lightning

Joined
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According to this link at Nature.com, streaks on Saturn's rings may be caused by titanic lightning strokes from the giant thunderstorms below in Saturn's thick atmosphere.

Now, this got me to thinking-could they be sprites, like those on Earth?

:confused:
 
"Now, this got me to thinking-could they be sprites, like those on Earth?"

Coincidentally, that's what the article says is the likely explanation.
 
"Now, this got me to thinking-could they be sprites, like those on Earth?"

Coincidentally, that's what the article says is the likely explanation.

**sigh** I knew I should have gotten a cup of Joe... :p

Well, Saturn's thunderstorms are probably the most violent in the solar system, with Jupiter's thunderstorms being a close second. My understanding is that Cassini is trying to photograph lightning flashes in Saturn's atmosphere. Ring shine, however, may make that difficult.
 
Thanks for the article, Saul, it is very interesting!

I suppose the streaks could be sprites as you suggest, who knows for certain? The streaks themselves are a new discovery.. I'm sure astronomers will figure it out to a degree of certainty in time.

Happy belated Thanksgiving, BTW!

Pat
 
Thanks for the article, Saul, it is very interesting!

I suppose the streaks could be sprites as you suggest, who knows for certain? The streaks themselves are a new discovery.. I'm sure astronomers will figure it out to a degree of certainty in time.

Happy belated Thanksgiving, BTW!

Pat

Another thing to keep in mind; Saturn's thunderstorms are HUGE. The Dragon Storm, in Saturn's southern hemisphere, is nearly half the size of Earth. Lightning on Saturn ranges anywhere from 1,000 to one million times more powerful than Earth's. As to that massive storm at Saturn's south pole, which was reported to have towering clouds surrounding the center, I wonder if those clouds may be thunderheads.

And I hope your Thanksgiving was good as well! :D
 
I suppose the streaks could be sprites as you suggest, who knows for certain? The streaks themselves are a new discovery.

Nobody is suggesting that the streaks are spikes - the streaks travel around the rings while a spike is a onetime event. It's surmised that the streaks are caused by spikes.

And they are far from a new discovery - they were found with the Voyager probes nearly 30 years ago...

- Rob
 
I left out the word from when typing my response.... It wass supposed to read:
I suppose the streaks could be from sprites.

Wonder why no spokes were observed between 1998 and 2004? Must not have been any thunderstorms during that period??

Pat
 
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