ageofdestruction:hex: Saturn’s north pole, photographed by…



ageofdestruction:

hex: Saturn’s north pole, photographed by Cassini, 3rd April 2014.

The hexagon is an atmospheric vortex, the shape apparently created by interaction of winds circling the pole at different speeds. Each side of the hexagon is about 13,800km long, wider than Earth.

10 images taken over about a quarter of a Saturnian day, which is about 10 hours and 40 minutes long.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/SSI. Animation: AgeOfDestruction.