Known as “the hexagon”, this weather feature is an intense, six-sided jet stream at Saturn’s North Pole. Spanning some 30 000 km across, it hosts howling 320 km/h winds that spiral around a massive storm rotating anticlockwise at the heart of the region.
Saturn, with its multiple rings, is sometimes referred as “The jewel of the Solar System”. The hexagonal pattern at Saturn’s North Pole had been shrouded in mystery for a long time. Some believe it to be natural phenomena, while others thought it to be the result of some alien activity. The spacecraft Cassini’s dive into Saturn has given us a lot of photographs and information that comes very close to decoding this anomaly.
However, a team of scientists has created a new atmospheric model that suggests the storm is thousands of miles deep.
They tested the theory in a lab and think it deep roots could explain why the hexagon has been a feature on Saturn’s surface for so long.
The 3D model was created by scientists at Harvard University.
It’s based on previous storm hypotheses that claim jet streams in the gas giant planet’s atmosphere or within its pressurised mass could be responsible.
Using their 3D spherical shell model, the researchers found that deep rotating changes in temperature between gasses on the planet could be causing the storm to form in that shape.
Picture Credit : Google