Scientists discover a mysterious wave shaped like a decagon in Saturn's atmosphere
The strange structure appears to have formed recently, but nobody can explain exactly why
Scientists have recently discovered a perplexing wave in the shape of a decagon within Saturn's atmosphere. This unusual ten-sided structure formed around Saturn's south pole and has baffled researchers. Agustin Sanchez-Lavega, a physicist from Spain’s Bilbao School of Engineering, stated that such a phenomenon has no Earthly counterpart and suggests it could be caused by disturbances in gas flows or a high-pressure storm near Saturn's pole.
The wave was first observed in 2023 and became clearly defined in images taken in August and September 2025. Unlike Earth's atmosphere, no similar structures have been detected on Jupiter. This discovery is detailed in a new study published in Science Advances. It is unclear why this wave forms exclusively around Saturn's pole, with Sanchez-Lavega proposing it might be due to differences in latitude or unique atmospheric conditions.
The wave's instability is also hinted at by its fuzzy lines in recent observations, suggesting it may be evolving.
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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
- New Hubble images reveal a bizarre decagon over Saturn’s south pole sciencenews.org
