Hubble tracks new decagon encircling Saturn's south pole
Recent observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a giant, evolving, 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn's south pole. This discovery marks the first time a large, regular-sided jet pattern has been observed in the planet's southern hemisphere. The feature appears remarkably similar to Saturn's famous hexagon at its north pole but is also distinctly different,…
Recent Hubble Space Telescope observations have uncovered a massive, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn's southern pole, marking the first instance of a regular-sided jet pattern observed in the planet's southern hemisphere. This phenomenon shares similarities with Saturn's well-known hexagon at its north pole, yet exhibits distinct characteristics, hinting at a novel atmospheric development on the gas giant.
The discovery, detailed in the journal Science Advances, stems from analyzing Hubble's extensive observations of Saturn spanning several years, particularly those collected as part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, which has been photographing the outer planets annually for over a decade. Researchers noted subtle indications of the structure's emergence as early as 2023, a development facilitated by Saturn's changing seasons gradually bringing the south pole back into Earth's view.
The 10-sided wave is situated within one of Saturn's powerful jet streams, extending through multiple atmospheric layers, suggesting it is more than just a cloud-level feature. Scientists are puzzled by the sudden appearance of this decagon, questioning what could have caused its formation at a time when such a structure has never been observed in the southern hemisphere before.
Further investigations are required to understand the formation process, the wave's longevity, and its comparison to Saturn's long-standing hexagonal pattern.
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- NASA’s Hubble Tracks New Decagon Encircling Saturn’s South Pole science.nasa.gov
- Saturn has a big, weird decagon around its south pole newscientist.com
- Scientists discover a mysterious wave shaped like a decagon in Saturn's atmosphere scientificamerican.com
- Hubble tracks new decagon encircling Saturn’s south pole esa.int
- New Hubble images reveal a bizarre decagon over Saturn’s south pole sciencenews.org
