Skip to comments.
Astronomy Picture of the Day - Hubble: Decagon Around Saturn's South Pole
NASA ^
| 8 Sep, 2026
| Image Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, HST; A. Sánchez-Lavega (UPV), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. Wong (UC Berk
Posted on 09/08/2026 11:18:45 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Why are Saturn’s poles geometric? Saturn’s North Pole has been known to be surrounded by a hexagonal (6 sides) cloud since discovery in 1987 in data taken by NASA’s Voyager spacecrafts, which quickly flew past the ringed world in the early 1980s. Now, recent observations of Saturn by the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a slightly different geometric cloud pattern around the South Pole: a decagon (10 sides). The geometric boundaries are possibly caused by waves when the fast-moving gas away from the poles interacts with slower-moving gas closer to the poles. In the featured image composite by the Hubble taken last year, the South Pole of Saturn is marked by an X and surrounded by bands of circulating clouds. The decagon appears most prominent in the dark inner regions. The northern hexagon has proven stable for over 40 years, while the stability of the southern decagon will surely remain a topic of research.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail). For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
To: MtnClimber
2
posted on
09/08/2026 11:19:39 AM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
3
posted on
09/08/2026 11:19:53 AM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 31R1O; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; ...
Pinging the APOD list
🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔
4
posted on
09/08/2026 11:21:12 AM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
Sorry for the duplicate image posts. I clicked “Post” and waited, and waited and nothing happened. Hit post again and waited and waited, then both turned up.
5
posted on
09/08/2026 11:23:24 AM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
FR is sloooooow today for some reason.......
6
posted on
09/08/2026 11:57:20 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Iryna Zarutska, May 22, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine – August 22, 2025 Charlotte, North Carolina Say her name)
To: Red Badger
FR is sloooooow today for some reason....... Denial of service attacks ahead of elections?
7
posted on
09/08/2026 12:10:37 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
Pretty impressive for a big ball of gas! ;)
8
posted on
09/08/2026 12:14:04 PM PDT
by
Diana in Wisconsin
(I don't have, 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set.)
To: Diana in Wisconsin
It may have a taller gear for forward than for reverse.
9
posted on
09/08/2026 12:17:43 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
Yes, it’s happened before..........
10
posted on
09/08/2026 12:29:35 PM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Iryna Zarutska, May 22, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine – August 22, 2025 Charlotte, North Carolina Say her name)
To: MtnClimber
To: MtnClimber
From earth orbiting Hubble? I’d like to see the geometry of that photo.
12
posted on
09/08/2026 12:36:42 PM PDT
by
PfromHoGro
(Orwell was optimistic.)
To: MtnClimber
13
posted on
09/08/2026 12:38:16 PM PDT
by
PfromHoGro
(Orwell was optimistic.)
To: MtnClimber
14
posted on
09/08/2026 1:44:23 PM PDT
by
No name given
( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )
To: Red Badger
Yes, and I hope they fix it soon.
15
posted on
09/08/2026 1:45:03 PM PDT
by
No name given
( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as )
To: MtnClimber
I noticed the slowness….who knows what it is…
16
posted on
09/08/2026 1:48:55 PM PDT
by
telescope115
(Ad Astra, Ad Deum…)
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson