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If you are long time Popular science reader, you know the megapixels. For those who do not, these dispatches present incredible graphics in science and technology.
The North Pole of the planet Saturn has a beautiful and mysterious meteorological feature: a whirlwind of hexagon-shaped clouds. The above image, taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in 2012 and first published in 2013, shows this unique jet stream at its highest resolution. NASA was able to assemble 128 individual images to create a film showing the swirling winds in motion:
These burly hexagons are the subject of a new study in Nature Communications. According to researchers led by Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester, the data of the late Cassini show that a hexagonal vortex at high altitude is formed at the North Pole of the planet during the summer, at the top of the stratosphere, far away famous clouds That we already know and love.
"Either a hexagon appeared spontaneously and identically at two different altitudes, one lower in the clouds and the other in the stratosphere, or the hexagon is an imposing structure covering several hundred kilometers", Fletcher said. .
Somewhat disappointing, these pictures do not show the natural hues of Saturn's clouds; According to NASA, the area will appear golden and blue to all humans lucky enough to take a look in person. You can see what it looks like here.
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