ten-sided atmospheric wave observed by Hubble
Why Is There a Decagon at Saturn’s South Pole?
Hubble observations have tracked a giant 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn’s south pole—a decagon. It is not a solid structure on the planet. It is an evolving pattern in Saturn’s atmosphere, and its geometry is especially striking because Saturn is already famous for the long-lived hexagon around its north pole.
Why now
NASA's Hubble report turned a planetary-science observation into a simple visual question: how can an atmosphere form a ten-sided pattern?
More context
Context
What is the shape made of?
The outline comes from an atmospheric wave. Moving gases and winds can organize into large repeating patterns; “decagon” describes the observed geometry, not a rigid object or surface feature.
Is it another version of the north-pole hexagon?
They are both polygonal atmospheric patterns, but they differ in location, number of sides and observed behavior. The northern hexagon is a famous long-lived feature. The southern decagon is a newly tracked pattern whose evolution researchers continue to study.
Why can an atmosphere make straight-looking sides?
Planetary rotation, wind speed and wave interactions can constrain a circulating flow into a polygon-like outline. Researchers use repeated observations and models to test which mechanism best fits the evolving southern pattern.
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Related Things
Evidence
Sources
- NASA's Hubble Tracks New Decagon Encircling Saturn's South Pole — NASA Science
Supports the Hubble observation, ten-sided atmospheric-wave interpretation and comparison with the north-pole hexagon.
- Google Trends — Trending Now — Google
Supports the current discovery context.