Abstract
Results of the analysis of Voyager measurements of divergence and inferred vertical velocity of convective cloud features in the northern hemisphere of Saturn are presented here. The winds in this region have been measured by tracking the cloud elements observed in sequences of images. The derived zonal winds imply that these convective features reside at the maximum of strong easterly jets centred at 41° N planetocentric latitude and that the jet is barotropically unstable. The divergences and local dynamics of the Saturn features are found to differ from those of the jovian equatorial plumes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Smith, B. A. et al. Science 212, 183–191 (1981).
Hanel, R. A. et al. Science 212, 192–201 (1981).
Hunt, G. E., Conrath, B. J. & Pirraglia, J. A. J. geophys. Res. 86, 8777–8783 (1981).
Hunt, G. E., Müller, J-P. & Gee, P. Nature 295, 491–494 (1982).
Jepsen, P. et al. J. Br. interplanet. Soc. 33, 315–320 (1980).
Hunt, G. E. et al. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. (in the press).
Sromovsky, L. A., Revercomb, H. E., Suomi, V. E., Limaye, S. S. & Krauss, R. J. J. atmos. Sci. (submitted).
Kaiser, M. J., Desch, M. D., Warwick, J. W. & Pearce, J. B. Science 209, 1238–1240 (1980).
Ward, N. R., Hunt, G. E. & Saunders, R. W. Int. J. Remote Sensing (in the press).
Fraedrich, K., Ruprecht, E. & Tunte, U. J. appl. Met. 15, 1312–1316 (1976).
Ingersoll, A. P. et al. J. geophys. Res. 86, 8733–8744 (1981).
Holton, J. An Introduction to Dynamical Meteorology (Academic, New York, 1973).
Newburn, R. & Gulkis, S. Space Sci. Rev. 3, 179–271 (1973).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hunt, G., Godfrey, D., Müller, JP. et al. Dynamical features in the northern hemisphere of Saturn from Voyager 1 images. Nature 297, 132–134 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/297132a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/297132a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Instrumental methods for professional and amateur collaborations in planetary astronomy
Experimental Astronomy (2014)
-
Atmospheric dynamics of Saturn’s 2010 giant storm
Nature Geoscience (2013)
-
A giant thunderstorm on Saturn
Nature (2011)
-
The Great White Spot and disturbances in Saturn's equatorial atmosphere during 1990
Nature (1991)