Saturn s North Polar Hexagon
Explanation:
In full view,
the amazing six-sided jet stream known
as Saturn's north polar hexagon is shown in this
colorful Cassini image.
Extending to 70 degrees north latitude,
the false-color video frame is map-projected, based on infrared,
visible, and ultraviolet image data recorded by the
Saturn-orbiting spacecraft in late 2012.
First found in the
outbound Voyager
flyby images from the 1980s, the
bizarre,
long-lived feature
tied to the planet's rotation is about 30,000 kilometers across.
At its center lies the
ringed gas giant's hurricane-like
north polar storm.
A new long term study of Cassini data has found a remarkable
higher-altitude vortex, exactly matching the outlines of the
north polar hexagon, that formed as summer approached the planet's
northern hemisphere.
It appears to reach hundreds of kilometers
above these deeper cloud tops,
into
Saturn's stratosphere.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
