Saturn’s South Pole Is Apparently Decagon-Shaped
Astronomers have identified a ten-sided decagon-shaped wave pattern at Saturn's south pole, similar to the well-known hexagon at the north pole. This discovery provides new insights into fluid dynamics and atmospheric wave phenomena on gas giants.
Why it matters
It advances our understanding of planetary atmospheric physics and the complex fluid dynamics occurring on gas giants.
Although some would argue that the hexagon is the bestagon, astronomers have discovered that Saturn appears to favor the ten-sided decagon on its south pole. This comes as its south pole has recently been confirmed to show a pattern that’s oddly ten-sided, per a recent research article by [Agustín Sánchez-Lavega] et al. in Science Advances.
Because Saturn is a gas giant, this naturally isn’t some gigantic planet-sized rock formation, but rather an interesting wave phenomenon in this massive gas bubble. The hexagon shape on its north pole had been known about for a while already, so it is perhaps not too surprising to find something similar on its south pole.
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