A SPACE project, partly funded by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, in North Star, has found a unique form of aurora on Saturn.

The Cassini-Huygens mission, that landed a probe on Saturn's moon Titan, has found the auroras, similar to the Northern Lights on earth, maybe unique to Saturn.

The observations show that Saturn's auroras vary from day to day, as they do on earth, moving around or remaining stationary.

But, compared to earth where dramatic brightening of the auroras lasts 10 minutes, Saturn's can last for days. Professor Michele Dougherty, from Imperial College, in London, said: "These findings show the sun's magnetic field and the solar wind play a much greater role in Saturn's auroras than was thought."