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RE: Cassini - This is how it ends. Not with a poof, but with a bang!
Awesome post Sweeney. That hexagon storm trips me out. How is it possible? Circles we can understand, but freaking hexagons??
Awesome post Sweeney. That hexagon storm trips me out. How is it possible? Circles we can understand, but freaking hexagons??
It's because of crosswinds at the pole. They intersect to create the sharp corners you see. The winds are so sharp that the air doesn't appear to mix at all along the storm's walls
Yes, but why a hexagon? We've never seen anything like that on earth or any other planet that I'm aware of. Why not an octagon or even a square? Seriously, this is making me trip. I know there is a scientific explanation for the shape and I want to find it, but until then my brain is all X-filed out.
There are a couple leading theories, and the shape can be reproduced in a lab, but I think it's just that we don't have forces strong enough to naturally produce such a thing, thankfully 😃
Fun fact: during the Cassini mission, between 2012 & 2016, the hexagonal storm changed from a blue color to more of a golden hue. It's thought this is caused by sunlight as the seasons on the planet shift. It's all really crazy stuff. I love science...