The Cosmic Companion VIP Newsletter May 31, 2021 - Studying Saturn with Sabine Stanley, JHU

Data from the final plunge of Cassini into the ringed planet offers a new look at the atmosphere of Saturn.

Hello everyone!

I hope you had a chance to see last week’s lunar eclipse! If not, another partial lunar eclipse is due for the US in November, plus a total lunar eclipse in about a year. We will, of course, provide you with all the details when the time comes!

This week on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion, we are joined by Dr. Sabina Stanley of Johns Hopkins University. We talk about her work using computer modeling to study the atmosphere of Saturn.

A composite image of the core of the Milky Way, recorded in X-ray and radio wavelengths. Image credit: NASA CXC UMass QD Wang Radio NRF SARAO MeerKAT

But first, we go about as far back in time as we can get, examining conditions in the first millionth of a second after the Big Bang. Next, we learn how oxygen affected ancient forms of life on Earth long ago. Then, we examine a new source of X-rays discovered near the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, and hear how long-period comets can still produce meteor showers in our modern day.

And… a…