Posted on 03/29/2007 12:15:48 PM PDT by NYer
A mysterious giant hexagon lies above Saturn's north pole, captured by cameras on Nasa's Cassini Orbiter.
Spanning 25,000km - equivalent to the width of two planet Earths - the bizarre geometric feature appears to remain virtually still in the atmosphere as clouds swirl around it.
The infra-red images show the hexagon - which contains a smaller six-sided formation - extends about 60km down into the clouds.
The hexagon is similar to Earth's polar vortex, which has winds blowing in a circular pattern around the polar region. On Saturn, the vortex has a hexagonal shape.
The six-sided shape is in stark contrast to the swirling, hurricane-like vortex at Saturn's opposite pole.
The feature was first photographed more than 20 years ago by Nasa's Voyager 1 and 2 probes, but this is the first time the hexagon has been seen in one image.
The latest pictures were taken at nighttime using infra-red because the pole is currently in darkness and the red colour indicates the amount of heat being generated from inside the planet.
Kevin Baines of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said: "This is a very strange feature, lying in a precise geometric fashion with six nearly equally straight sides.
"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."
Stop in the Name of Love !
Our friends the space aliens are sending us a signal telling us that our light bulbs are causing global warming!
IT'S THE 12th MAHDI!!!!!
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!
Calypso Looney's mothership?
Thanks for the mammary.
S-A-T-U-R-N ... 6 letters
Sixth planet ... Six-sided figure -- makes sense
(If you look closely at Uranus, you'll probably see an octagon ;)
Are we sure it isn't an octogon, cuz that would mean it was
Chuck Norris's secret hideout on Saturn.
Scientists have discovered that the universe is still expanding and WHY!
It's trying to get away from Chuck Norris....
According to coasttocoastam.com, Hoagland is on tonight.
 |
Are you implying the cosmos has accepted that Seagal exists?! |
Note: Just adding, this is an old topic. Thanks NYer.
|
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.
