This photo provided by NASA/ESA/A. Sánchez-Lavega (Basque Country University) shows a pattern of clouds around the Saturn’s south pole on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (NASA/ESA/A. Sánchez-Lavega, Basque Country University, EHU, via AP)
\n\nCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have discovered an enormous 10-sided wave pattern in the icy ammonia clouds over Saturn’s south pole.
\n\nThe spinning, meandering decagon appears to be even bigger and more unstable than the hexagon of clouds around Saturn’s north pole that was spied by NASA’s twin Voyagers in the 1980s, the Spanish-led team reported Wednesday.
\n\nThis new jet stream formation popped up in the Hubble Space Telescope’s sights in 2023 after earlier observations came up empty. The researchers suspect the bizarre atmospheric phenomenon may have formed between 2017 and 2023, when Saturn’s south pole was tilted away from Earth and therefore out of view.
\n\nIt could still be evolving, with a single side of the decagon already exceeding 10,000 miles (16,700 kilometers).
\n\nThe findings are significant because it shows “the ‘unique’ hexagon is not as extraordinary as we thought,” lead author Agustin Sanchez-Lavega with the University of the Basque Country said in an email.
\n\nThe findings were published in the journal Science Advances.
\n\nAlthough all…
Original source: https://apnews.com/business