Eye of the storm at Saturn's north pole

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on a recent Astronomy Picture of the Day featuring Cassini's image of a massive storm at Saturn's north pole, with excitement for future color images and animations. Participants inquire about the dimensions of the storm's inner vortex, with estimates suggesting a diameter of approximately 2,000 km, while the hexagonal structure surrounding it measures around 25,000 km. The cause of the hexagonal shape remains a topic of curiosity, with participants dismissing terrestrial explanations. Links to additional resources are shared to explore the phenomenon further. Overall, the conversation highlights the fascination with Saturn's unique atmospheric features and ongoing research.
stargazer3
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Hi! I'm really excited about recent APoD picture, which shows Cassini's photo of a gigantic storm on Saturn's north pole. They also have an animation! I can't wait for a colour picture and videos.

Meanwhile, since I still didn't state the purpose of this thread, what are the inner vortex dimensions? NASA's webpage says the probe took the picture from four hundred thousand kilometers away, but I can't find anything about the storm size.

Also, the http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=4679 image shows an evident hexogonal structure, what on Earth is it caused by?
 
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stargazer3 said:
Also, the http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=4679 image shows an evident hexogonal structure, what on Earth is it caused by?
I do not think it is caused by anything on earth.
Sorry, could not resist ;).

I found 25000km as diameter for the hexagonal structure. Comparing this with an image of both together, this would indicate ~2000km for the diameter of the inner part.
 
stargazer3 said:
Also, the http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=4679 image shows an evident hexogonal structure, what on Earth is it caused by?
Exploring the link mfb provided, we can find this:
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2010/2471.html
 
Now that is seriously impressive

thanks for the links :)

Dave
 

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