Saturn’s hexagon: what holds it together?

A close-up, top-down color image of Saturn's north polar hexagon and central vortex.

Saturn’s hexagon

Cassini saw a persistent six-wave pattern in Saturn’s north-polar jet, not a solid-sided storm. What keeps it going? 🪐

Swirling colored ink or dye in water creating a vortex pattern against a light background.

Saturn’s hexagon

Rotating-tank experiments made polygons in sheared fluid. A model proposes six planetary waves trapped in the jet could move with it, seeming still. 🔬

Oblique Cassini view of Saturn's north polar hexagon and central vortex, with planetary rings visible in the background.

Saturn’s hexagon

Cassini winds fit possible jet instability. Gravity data inspired another idea: smaller cyclones pinch a deep jet upward into a hexagon. 🌀

Close-up spacecraft image of Saturn's north pole showing swirling vortex dynamics and bright cloud structures.

Saturn’s hexagon

Later simulations made a polygon with nine edges, not Saturn’s six. No proposal explains how the observed hexagon is maintained; the question remains open. 🌌

Saturn’s hexagon: what holds it together?

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