# Cassini photographs of incredible atmospheric phenomenon on Saturn **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 27, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753 "2007-03-27T22:32:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/1 "2007-03-27T22:32:15Z")
There’ve been a few threads recently about the Cassini mission at Saturn, and I really wasn’t sure whether this would belong in GQ but it was an entirely different subject and one which is truly fascinating. I didn’t think it was mundane enough for MPSIMS, but since there’s no factual answer even by NASA, I wasn’t sure where to put it. Please feel free to move this to an appropriate section, mods. [NASA just released images of an atmospheric formation at Saturn’s north pole](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2007-034) which has been known about for a long time, but hasn’t been photographed since the Voyager missions. Since the north pole is not facing the sun right now (and won’t be for some time), they had to take infrared photos. The formation is even larger than the Great Red Spot, and it’s incredible in a way that few extraterrestrial phenomena are. I can only wonder what could possibly make this happen. Is the core of Jupiter less spherical and perhaps more geometric? Even NASA isn’t sure. As much as I believe in aliens, I’m pretty skeptical that they’re behind this. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/2 "2007-03-27T22:46:10Z")
My second response – my first of course was ‘That is so freakin awesome’ – is that ‘precise’ and ‘nearly perfectly straight’ as estimated by the weatherman studying it are likely to be human exaggeration. Even in the rough image I can tell those sides aren’t anything like perfectly straight, and future images may reveal that it wasn’t nearly as well-formed as it first appeared. My third thought I didn’t finish because I was whiplashing myself over to Randi’s board to see what the woos are making of it, bless their zany hearts. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/3 "2007-03-27T22:46:47Z")
Oddly enough I am the opposite in that I am very Skeptical of Aliens, but wouldn’t be surprised if such a thing is “alien-made.” Not to say that It can’t be natural, just that if it is, it is incredible. edit: I see on preview EE saw some other images that show it isn’t straight lines. Much more believable that it is natural now. It’s my understanding straight lines rarely happen in nature. Especially at this scale. I retract my original thoughts then. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/4 "2007-03-27T23:00:33Z")
Love the photo caption: > [@](#): > > This nighttime view of Saturn’s north pole shows a bizarre six-sided hexagon feature encircling the entire north pole. You know, just to distinguish it from all those five-sided hexagons and seven-sided hexagons out there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/5 "2007-03-27T23:15:26Z")
[QUOTE=anamnesis] I didn’t think it was mundane enough for MPSIMS, but since there’s no factual answer even by NASA, I wasn’t sure where to put it. Please feel free to move this to an appropriate section, mods. [/QUOTE] I [started](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=414234) a thread in MPSIMS about this before seeing this thread; so between us we have it covered, eh ? 😉 I guess the mods will lock one. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/6 "2007-03-27T23:24:47Z")
\*\*[Geometric whirlpools revealed](http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060515/full/060515-17.html) \*\* > [@](#): > > As a bucket of water speeds up, the hole changes shape from a three-sided star to a pentagon. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/7 "2007-03-28T00:31:15Z")
How does a bucket of water speed up?? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/8 "2007-03-28T00:34:47Z")
thanks for that link, Squink. That’s about as counter-intuitive an experiment as I can imagine. So it’s not so amazing after all. I was kind of hoping they were the product of giant Saturnian bees. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/9 "2007-03-28T00:37:49Z")
> [@Patty O'Furniture](#): > > How does a bucket of water speed up?? Go looky linky. **Squink** y linky, that is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/10 "2007-03-28T00:46:01Z")
[QUOTE=anamnesis] As much as I believe in aliens, I’m pretty skeptical that they’re behind this. 🙂 [/QUOTE] I believe in aliens too - I’ve met a number of legal ones, and probably a few illegal ones too, although they weren’t going to tell _me_ that. None of them seemed like they could have created rotating hexagons around the north pole of Saturn. What? ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/11 "2007-03-28T01:54:06Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] I believe in aliens too - I’ve met a number of legal ones, and probably a few illegal ones too, although they weren’t going to tell _me_ that. None of them seemed like they could have created rotating hexagons around the north pole of Saturn. [/QUOTE] Yeah, try telling that to all the native Saturnian hexagon workers who can’t find a job anymore. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/12 "2007-03-28T02:09:23Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] Yeah, try telling that to all the native Saturnian hexagon workers who can’t find a job anymore. [/QUOTE] Oh, those hexagon workers need to stop being so _obtuse_! (wonders if that is obscure) ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/13 "2007-03-28T02:15:20Z")
Eh, I prefer the more classic lines of a monolith. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/14 "2007-03-28T02:24:38Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] Oh, those hexagon workers need to stop being so _obtuse_! (wonders if that is obscure) [/QUOTE] _Flatland_. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/15 "2007-03-28T08:13:54Z")
I saw the MPSIMS thread first… I posted this drivel: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8403849&postcount=13](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8403849&postcount=13) ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/16 "2007-03-28T12:52:25Z")
Based upon the conclusive evidence presented so far this must be caused by man made global warming. We must immediately spend trillions of dollars to reverse this horrible chain of events before it turns into a square, or worse, a triangle. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/17 "2007-03-28T13:26:55Z")
[QUOTE=GIGObuster] (wonders if that is obscure) [/QUOTE] I thought it was a\_cute joke. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/18 "2007-03-28T13:53:19Z")
[QUOTE=RTFirefly] I thought it was a\_cute joke. [/QUOTE] I just ignored it, by reflex. There’s no need to go off at a tangent. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/19 "2007-03-28T13:57:21Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] I just ignored it, by reflex. There’s no need to go off at a tangent. [/QUOTE] I don’t think I can cosign on this indiscrete, base linguistic isometry. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2007, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753/20 "2007-03-28T14:27:24Z")
Just the regular puns then, I see. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassini-photographs-of-incredible-atmospheric-phenomenon-on-saturn/397753.md?page=2)