What better way to study the weather on Earth than to look at other planets? Led by University of Houston physics professor Liming Li, a research team is seeking to do just that. By studying data from Saturn, Jupiter and other planets, they hope to gain information on the history and future of weather here on the home planet.
OLD SATURN MISSION BRINGS BACK EXCITING RESULTS
In 1997, a joint effort between some of the world’s space agencies was released into space. The Cassini-Huygens mission got to Saturn in 2004 while collecting data from Jupiter and other planets on the way. Equipped with twelve scientific instruments, the mission has had been extended many times with an end date in 2017. As a result of the data, Li and his associated were given a sum of $700,000 in order to study the information from Saturn.
DATA GIVES UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON EARTH
Between the weather on the various planets that were studied, Li was able to get a wide range of data. With this, they can get a much broader perspective on how the climate change effects Earth. Using two cameras, the images of Saturn can be seen in several visible wavelengths. Regions that look particularly interesting in the photos are explored more in depth. Due to Earth and Saturns similar angle, scientists were able to gather that the seasons were relative to each other.
WORLDS AWAY BUT NOT SO DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER
Using real-time data from Cassini, Li was able to confirm that Saturn’s seasons do change with the atmosphere. Like Earth, spring and summer bring big storms on the distance planet. One particular storm was said to be more than 100,000 kilometers wide (62,000 miles). Besides weather, Li examined the amount of energy each planet receives from the sun. For example, a planet like Titan emits about the same amount of energy it absorbs, just like Earth. Other planets such as Jupiter emit more than they absorb. This means they have internal heat. By studying these unique differences, Li thinks we can effectively learn about the past, present and future of our home planet.
