Who discovered Saturn's hexagon and when was it first identified?
David Godfrey pieced together the first view of Saturn's hexagon in 1987. He analyzed fly-by data from the Voyager mission that had flown past the planet six years earlier.
Questions about Saturn's hexagon
Short answers, pulled from the story.
How large is Saturn's hexagon compared to Earth?
The sides of the hexagon stretch about 13,800 kilometers long. This distance exceeds the diameter of Earth by a significant margin while the structure spans roughly 29,000 kilometers across its widest point.
When did Cassini spacecraft confirm Saturn's hexagon persisted for decades?
Cassini-Huygens returned to the site in 2006 to confirm the pattern persisted for decades. The spacecraft captured thermal infrared images until January 2009 when sunlight finally reached the north pole.
Why does Saturn's hexagon change color between blue and golden hues?
Between 2012 and 2016 the hexagon shifted from blue to golden hues as the pole received direct sunlight during seasonal shifts. One hypothesis suggests sunlight creates haze particles that alter the color.
What scientific theory explains the formation of Saturn's hexagon shape?
Allison Godfrey and Beebe published their wave dynamical interpretation in Science on the 2nd of March 1990. Oxford University scientists proposed steep latitudinal gradients in wind speed create the shape through turbulent flow between rotating fluid bodies with dissimilar speeds.