A 100-year storm on Saturn has challenged our understanding of the gas giant planet.

Massive storms left their mark on Saturn's atmosphere for hundreds of years. By studying radio radiation and ammonia disturbances, researchers have discovered a long-lasting mega storm on Saturn similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The study finds significant differences in the atmospheres of the two gas giants and challenges current understanding of giant storms, providing new insights that could influence future exoplanet research.

Scientists believe that such storms are partly related to the seasonal effects of sunlight on Saturn's atmosphere. Source: NASA/ JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

The largest storm in the solar system is a 10,000-mile-wide inverted cyclone known as the Great Red Spot that has been shining on the surface of Jupiter for hundreds of years.

A new study shows that Saturn, while more obscure than Jupiter's colorful exterior, also has big, long-lasting storms. These storms affect the deep atmosphere for centuries.

The research was done by astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. They examined radio radiation below the Earth's surface and found that the distribution of ammonia gas had been disturbed for a long time.

The study was published Aug. 11 in the journal Science Advances.

A radio image of Saturn taken with the VLA in May 2015, in which brighter radio emissions from Saturn and its rings are subtracted to enhance the contrast of darker radiation in the atmosphere between different latitude bands. Because ammonia blocks radio waves, bright features indicate areas where ammonia is depleted, and the VLA can see deeper into the atmosphere. The wide bright band in the northern latitudes is the aftermath of Saturn's 2010 storm, which apparently depleted the ammonia beneath the ammonia ice clouds, which is what we see with our naked eyes. Source: R. J. Sault and I. de Pater

Major storms on Saturn occur about every 20 to 30 years and are similar to hurricanes on Earth, but much larger. But unlike hurricanes on Earth, no one knows what causes giant storms in Saturn's atmosphere, which is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of methane, water and ammonia.

Lead author Cheng Li was a 51 Peg b researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and is now an assistant professor at the University of Michigan.

Imke de Pater, professor emeritus of astronomy and Earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, has been studying gas giant planets for more than four decades to better understand their composition and uniqueness.

Optically, Saturn's banded atmosphere appears to shift smoothly between different colors. But from the radio light here - where VLA data is superimposed on Cassini's image of Saturn - the apparent nature of the banding becomes apparent. Scientists used VLA data to better understand ammonia in the atmosphere of the gas giant planet, and learned that giant storms transport ammonia from the upper atmosphere to the lower atmosphere. Sources: S. Dagnello (NRAO/AUI/NSF), I. de Pater et al. (University of California, Berkeley)

"At radio wavelengths, we can detect the underside of the visible clouds of giant planets." "Because chemical reactions and dynamics change the composition of a planet's atmosphere, observations below these clouds are needed to determine the planet's true atmospheric composition, which is a key parameter in planet formation models," she said. Radio observations help describe the dynamics, physical and chemical processes of giant planet atmospheres at global and local scales, including heat transport, cloud formation and convection.

As reported in the new study, de Pater, Lee, and UC Berkeley graduate student Chris Moeckel found something surprising in the planet's radio emissions: abnormal concentrations of ammonia in the atmosphere, which they linked to past mega-storms in the planet's northern hemisphere.

According to the team, ammonia concentrations are low at mid-latitudes, just below the top layer of ammonia ice clouds, but become high at lower latitudes, 100 to 200 kilometers deep in the atmosphere. They believe that ammonia is being transported from the upper atmosphere to the lower atmosphere through the process of precipitation and re-evaporation. What's more, the effect can last for hundreds of years.

The study further found that while both Saturn and Jupiter are made of hydrogen gas, the two gas giants are markedly different. Although Jupiter also has tropospheric anomalies, these are related to Jupiter's bands (white bands) and bands (dark bands), rather than being caused by storms like Saturn. The vast differences between the two neighboring gas giants challenge current understanding of the formation of giant storms on gas giants and other planets. This could also affect the way these storms are found and studied on exoplanets in the future.

A 100-year storm on Saturn has challenged our understanding of the gas giant planet.

Massive storms left their mark on Saturn's atmosphere for hundreds of years. By studying radio radiation and ammonia disturbances, researchers have discovered a long-lasting mega storm on Saturn similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The study finds significant differences in the atmospheres of the two gas giants and challenges current understanding of giant storms, providing new insights that could influence future exoplanet research.

Scientists believe that such storms are partly related to the seasonal effects of sunlight on Saturn's atmosphere. Source: NASA/ JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

The largest storm in the solar system is a 10,000-mile-wide inverted cyclone known as the Great Red Spot that has been shining on the surface of Jupiter for hundreds of years.

A new study shows that Saturn, while more obscure than Jupiter's colorful exterior, also has big, long-lasting storms. These storms affect the deep atmosphere for centuries.

The research was done by astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. They examined radio radiation below the Earth's surface and found that the distribution of ammonia gas had been disturbed for a long time.

The study was published Aug. 11 in the journal Science Advances.

A radio image of Saturn taken with the VLA in May 2015, in which brighter radio emissions from Saturn and its rings are subtracted to enhance the contrast of darker radiation in the atmosphere between different latitude bands. Because ammonia blocks radio waves, bright features indicate areas where ammonia is depleted, and the VLA can see deeper into the atmosphere. The wide bright band in the northern latitudes is the aftermath of Saturn's 2010 storm, which apparently depleted the ammonia beneath the ammonia ice clouds, which is what we see with our naked eyes. Source: R. J. Sault and I. de Pater

Major storms on Saturn occur about every 20 to 30 years and are similar to hurricanes on Earth, but much larger. But unlike hurricanes on Earth, no one knows what causes giant storms in Saturn's atmosphere, which is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of methane, water and ammonia.

Lead author Cheng Li was a 51 Peg b researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and is now an assistant professor at the University of Michigan.

Imke de Pater, professor emeritus of astronomy and Earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, has been studying gas giant planets for more than four decades to better understand their composition and uniqueness.

Optically, Saturn's banded atmosphere appears to shift smoothly between different colors. But from the radio light here - where VLA data is superimposed on Cassini's image of Saturn - the apparent nature of the banding becomes apparent. Scientists used VLA data to better understand ammonia in the atmosphere of the gas giant planet, and learned that giant storms transport ammonia from the upper atmosphere to the lower atmosphere. Sources: S. Dagnello (NRAO/AUI/NSF), I. de Pater et al. (University of California, Berkeley)

"At radio wavelengths, we can detect the underside of the visible clouds of giant planets." "Because chemical reactions and dynamics change the composition of a planet's atmosphere, observations below these clouds are needed to determine the planet's true atmospheric composition, which is a key parameter in planet formation models," she said. Radio observations help describe the dynamics, physical and chemical processes of giant planet atmospheres at global and local scales, including heat transport, cloud formation and convection.

As reported in the new study, de Pater, Lee, and UC Berkeley graduate student Chris Moeckel found something surprising in the planet's radio emissions: abnormal concentrations of ammonia in the atmosphere, which they linked to past mega-storms in the planet's northern hemisphere.

According to the team, ammonia concentrations are low at mid-latitudes, just below the top layer of ammonia ice clouds, but become high at lower latitudes, 100 to 200 kilometers deep in the atmosphere. They believe that ammonia is being transported from the upper atmosphere to the lower atmosphere through the process of precipitation and re-evaporation. What's more, the effect can last for hundreds of years.

The study further found that while both Saturn and Jupiter are made of hydrogen gas, the two gas giants are markedly different. Although Jupiter also has tropospheric anomalies, these are related to Jupiter's bands (white bands) and bands (dark bands), rather than being caused by storms like Saturn. The vast differences between the two neighboring gas giants challenge current understanding of the formation of giant storms on gas giants and other planets. This could also affect the way these storms are found and studied on exoplanets in the future.