Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/08/24/nasa-35-years-on-voyagers.html
…
5 Likes
For example, the exact length of Saturn’s day continues to elude researchers.
Wouldn’t that be a function of latitude? I don’t think gas giants rotate like rigid bodies, do they?
1 Like
I think the problem is akin to trying to measure the Earth’s rotation just by looking at the movement of its cloud cover.
Yes, the cloud cover is rotating with the planet, but it’s also spinning back and forth and north and south and generally behaving as a chaotic weather system. Following the path one cloud takes around the Earth probably wouldn’t give you a very good idea about the length of the day. It’s much easier to measure the speed at which the solid part spins… Except we can’t see that bit within Saturn.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
