Saturn's Auroras Filmed by Hubble

SPACE.com -- Saturn's Auroras Filmed by Hubble

A new Hubble movie shows a rare view of Saturn with its many rings sitting edge-on, providing a dazzling glimpse of the planet's poles and the auroras that dance above them.

It takes Saturn almost thirty years to orbit the sun, with the opportunity to image both of its poles occurring only twice in that period, when the planet reaches its equinox (the point in a planet's orbit when the sun's rays fall perpendicular to the planet's equator).

Saturn hit this position last year, providing Hubble with the unique chance to keep a sustained view of the planet with both its poles in view. The movie they created from the data, collected over several days during January and March 2009, has aided astronomers studying both Saturn's northern and southern auroras.

Given the rarity of such an event, this new footage will likely be the last and best equinox movie that Hubble captures of our planetary neighbor.

As Saturn was approaching its equinox, both poles were equally illuminated by the sun's rays.