'Snowmageddon' on Saturn snapped by amateur stargazers

A tip-off from an amateur astronomer has enabled top planet-gazing boffins to probe a fearful ammonia snowstorm deep in the roiling atmosphere of Saturn, ringed giant world of the outer solar system. The storm that Cassini caught. The red boxes are where the instrument looked. Credit: C Go/NASA Cassini happened to be looking …

[Anonymous Coward]

hmm

Why would it have averaged it out? Wouldnt you program your set-up to alert you if something is a bit untoward?

[Hollerith 1]

the joy of science

I've just read "The Age of Wonder" by Richard Holmes. The excitement of 'amateur' astronomers, such as Caroline Hershel, discovering coments, and her brother discovering a planet, FFS, has to be one of the crowning glories of the human brain. Huamns love of knowledge, their excitement to behold new things, saves us from what so many want to doom us to: negation within controlling ideologies that discourage curiosity and promote beliefs that encourage us to feed on froth, such as celebrity lifestyles, rather than on the true wonder all around us.

[mitch 2]

amature discovery

I think I've just discovered a coment too!

[Anonymous Coward]

Snowmaggedon

Does this constitute a climate change, best get some politicians and some right-on scientists up there right now to put a stop to it (and, another plus would be that we would stop having to listen to election lies).

[Anonymous Coward]

Politicians Decline Climate Line

Nope, nothing to C-band here; No money in IT.

[Robert Hill]

Hope

Somehow, the thought that there are STILL serious amateur astronomers doing what is very important work, even in places as far-flung as the Philippines, makes my heart happy and gives me hope for mankind. Because it is only with such innate curiosity that mankind can persevere in this hostile universe...

Well done chaps!

[Lars]

Re: Hope

Agree totally, but this "far-flung" is far-flung from where!.

[MeRp]

far-flung

Certainly no one could deny that the Philippines is far-flung from the origin point of the universe...

[Dodgy Geezer]

It needed asking....

What was the size of his instrument?

Inqusitive astronomers want to know!

(Mine's six inches, but I've only got a small one)

Fnarr-Fnarr....

[SynnerCal]

Snowstorm on Saturn...

... so what train/plane services in the South of England are going to be cancelled as a result?

Companies form an orderly queue for "compensation" here

[John Sanders]

Wonderful!

Wonderful!

[Andrew 63]

Can..

...we live there yet?

[Anonymous Coward]

"where lightning has been observed and the clouds are made of water and ammonia."

So, pretty much like any Chinese industrial city, then?

[John Dougald McCallum]

Amateur Stargazers

Will always be getting this sort of result,and will always be welcomed by the pros as they (the pros) are so few,and amateur Astronomers cam dedicate more of their time to just observing mainly because they donot have to teach(students,politicos etc)or write scholarly papers reports etc in order to get funding,keep their place at the top table,pecking order etc.

[Winkypop]

Ammonia avenue

Science 1 - Deity worship 0 (again)

[Head]

wow

I have to get a good telescope so i can look up and see Saturn there like that :)