
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have finally explained one of planetary science's longest-running puzzles: why Saturn appeared to change its rotation speed over decades. A study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research on May 29, 2026, found that Saturn's rotation rate was never actually changing. Instead, Saturn's own aurora was driving a self-sustaining heat engine of wind and electrical current that fooled instruments going back to the Voyager spacecraft of the 1980s.
Entertainment · Jun 1 · L1-L4