Cassini reveals a surprising twist in Saturn’s magnetic shield

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Cassini data has revealed a surprising twist in Saturn’s magnetic shield: the planet’s rapid rotation appears to drag a key opening in its magnetosphere far toward the afternoon side instead of keeping it near noon, as happens on Earth. The finding confirms that giant planets like Saturn operate under a fundamentally different magnetic regime, where fast spin and charged material from moons such as Enceladus can overpower the Sun’s influence.