Michael

Something strange is happening on Saturn. The NASA Cassini mission to Saturn has captured some unusual images on the north pole of the planet. It’s basically a hexagon (6-sided shape) that is 15,000 miles (25,000 kilometers) across. According to the JPL scientists, nearly four earths could fit inside the shape. Apparently this feature was seen on the Voyager 1 and 2 missions over 20 years ago. Cassini has been able to garner much more detail then the previous missions. Please read the full JPL article that includes photos of the hexagon.

“This is a very strange feature, lying in a precise geometric fashion with six nearly equally straight sides,” said Kevin Baines, atmospheric expert and member of Cassini’s visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “We’ve never seen anything like this on any other planet. Indeed, Saturn’s thick atmosphere where circularly-shaped waves and convective cells dominate is perhaps the last place you’d expect to see such a six-sided geometric figure, yet there it is.” - Jet Propulsion Laboratories

The JPL scientists have no idea how this geometric shape could form in the high winds that circle the north pole of Saturn. I love stories like this. It really shows how little we know of the universe around us and how often we can be completely surprised. I’m fascinated by what is waiting to be discovered right in our backyard.

Enjoy.

Michael