![]() Other Cassini observations showed that the SKR emissions were not even a solo. But later, other spacecraft - including the NASA-European Space Agency Ulysses probe and Cassini - found that the radio burst varied by seconds to minutes. When NASA's Voyager spacecraft visited Saturn in the early 1980s, the planet's SKR emissions indicated the length of one Saturn day was about 10.66 hours. Observations of this kind of radio wave pattern at Jupiter allowed scientists to measure that planet's rotation rate, but at Saturn the situation has turned out to be much more complicated, researchers said. While these waves are inaudible to human ears, to Cassini they sound a bit like bursts of a spinning air raid siren and vary with each rotation of the planet.Ĭassini scientists have converted the varying Saturn radio wave emissions to the human audio range. © 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc.Saturn emits natural radio waves known as Saturn Kilometric Radiation, or SKR for short. “This research shows not only that this particular rocky exoplanet likely has a magnetic field but provides a promising method to find more.”īoth researchers agree there is still a lot of “follow-up work” to go before they can confirm whether there’s a magnetic field on the planet. ![]() ![]() After further investigation, researchers believe the exoplanet, had an Earth-like field that was interacting with its star to generate the signal. “The search for potentially habitable or life-bearing worlds in other solar systems depends in part on being able to determine if rocky, Earth-like exoplanets actually have magnetic fields,” he said in a statement. Joe Pesce, program director for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory said the discovery would play a crucial role in determining how magnetic fields work on other planets. “If the planet has a magnetic field and it plows through enough star stuff, it will cause the star to emit bright radio waves.” “What we’re doing is looking for a way to see them,” Professor Villadsen said. However, due to its invisibility, it has proven challenging to determine whether the distant planet actually has its own magnetic field. “When we saw it again, it was very indicative that, okay, maybe we really have something here.”Īfter further investigation, the pair came up with the theory that the planet, which is about 12 light years away, had an Earth-like field that was interacting with its star to generate the signal. “We saw the initial burst and it looked beautiful,” Pineda said in a statement. Researchers believe they’ve uncovered an alien planet that could have its own magnetic field, indicating it could be supporting extraterrestrial beings. Researchers Sebastian Pineda and Jackie Villadsen discovered the signals with the help of a radio telescope. In a paper published to Nature Astronomy journal, astrophysicists found rocky planet YZ Ceti was deflecting repeated radio signals from the star it orbits around. Now, researchers believe they’ve uncovered an alien planet that could have its own magnetic field, indicating it could be supporting extraterrestrial beings. Astronomers are learning whether there is life beyond Earth, following the discovery of an exoplanet emitting a “coherent” radio signal. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune also have magnetic fields, however, they’re all much stronger than Earth’s. On Earth, our magnetic field extends from the molten iron in the planet’s core out into space and protects life from cosmic radiation and charged particles released from the Sun. Astronomers are one step closer to learning whether there is life beyond Earth, following the discovery of an exoplanet that’s able to emit a “coherent” radio signal.Ī magnetic field on a planet is the first sign it’s capable of being habitable as it prevents radiation.
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