Credit: X-ray: NASA/U. Hamburg/J.Ness et al; Optical: NASA/STScI

Chandra's image of Saturn shows that its X-radiation is concentrated along the equator. The X-ray spectrum, or the distribution of X-rays according to energy, was found to be similar to that of X-rays from the Sun. This indicates that the X-radiation is due to the reflection of solar X-rays by Saturn's atmosphere. The optical image of Saturn is also due to the reflection of light from the Sun - visible wavelength light in this case - but the two images obviously have dramatic differences. The optical image is much brighter and shows the beautiful ring structures, which were not detected in X-rays. These differences occur because the Sun emits about a million times more power in visible light than in X-rays, and X-rays reflect much less efficiently from Saturn's atmosphere and rings.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2004/saturn/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

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