Enceladus produces an unusual rainbow!

This has confused astronomers.

On August 19, the U.S. "Latest Science News" published an article.

Astronomers reported the discovery of an unlikely rainbow in the solar system, indicating that as long as there is some precipitation and light, a rainbow can appear.

This celestial rainbow appeared on Enceladus, the icy moon of Saturn, which is responsible for forming Saturn's E ring.

Enceladus is an active icy moon.

When the international Cassini mission studied Saturn and its satellites, it revealed that the small Enceladus has a deep liquid ocean with interesting chemical components, making this satellite a prime target for the possible existence of life.

There are geysers at Enceladus' south pole, which release ice material that eventually forms a wide and thick ring.

Researchers led by Niels Rambaut from Delft University found that color-shifted parallel stripes, which created a rainbow effect in the sky above Enceladus, can be seen in images from the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) and the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS).

These stripes are tilted 16° relative to the solar plane and 43° relative to the Saturn ring plane.

These stripes can be seen in multiple images and are more visible in infrared light.

"The real challenge is trying to describe what we're seeing," scientists said. "It's different from anything previously recorded."

Their best explanation is that something is wrong with the E ring, and Enceladus may be the culprit.

The E ring has an ordered reflective structure that may form these stripes due to the gravity of Enceladus as it passes through the E ring.

The research team is not entirely sure, but it seems that Enceladus is indeed at the center of this new phenomenon.

The Cassini mission was carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

It operated around Saturn for 13 years, bringing revolutionary insights.

As this study shows, there are still many surprises waiting to be discovered in its data.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840931941069835/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.