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Oddly-Shaped Feature Circling The North Pole Of Saturn Still Puzzles Scientists
MessageToEagle.com – One of the greatest mysteries observed in space is an odd, six-sided feature known as hexagon circling the north pole of Saturn.
It’s Saturn’s gigantic jet stream that follows a hexagon-shaped path. The feature appears to be fixed with the planet’s rotation rate and axis.
The phenomenon has long puzzled scientists. The six-sided shape remains a mystery. The planet Saturn’s interior is not enough known and it’s difficult to figure out what can affect this bizarre structure.
According to Kevin Baines, planetary scientist of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.:
“This is a very strange feature, lying in a precise geometric fashion with six nearly equally straight sides,”
This colorful view from NASA’s Cassini mission is the highest-resolution view of the unique six-sided jet stream at Saturn’s north pole known as “the hexagon.” This movie, made from images obtained by Cassini’s imaging cameras, is the first to show the hexagon in color filters, and the first movie to show a complete view from the north pole down to about 70 degrees north latitude. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/Hampton University
“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.” Read rest of the story here:
