Mysterious 10-sided structure discovered on Saturn
Astronomers have discovered a mysterious 10-sided atmospheric wave, or decagon, encircling Saturn's south pole. This feature mirrors a long-lived hexagonal structure found at the planet's north pole, raising new questions about atmospheric dynamics on gas giants.
Why it matters
Understanding these unique polygonal structures helps scientists better comprehend the complex atmospheric physics of gas giants in our solar system.
A view of Saturn from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revealing a giant, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling the planet's south pole. (NASA/ESA/STScI/A. Sánchez-Lavega via SWNS) Key takeaways Powered by Yahoo Scout. Yahoo is using AI to generate key points from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. A 10-sided atmospheric wave has been discovered encircling Saturn's south pole, resembling a long-lived hexagonal structure at its north pole. The discovery of the decagon structure on Saturn's southern hemisphere raises questions about atmospheric phenomena on gas giants and the uniqueness of such polygonal waves on Saturn. Amateur astronomers, the Hubble Space Telescope, and a University of Leicester scientist contributed to the discovery, highlighting the importance of ongoing observations to unravel the mystery of Saturn's changing atmosphere. See more By Dean Murray
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