Mysterious hexagon on Saturn’s north pole changes colour
A HUGE section of Saturn’s surface appears to have changed colour.
A mysterious hexagon shape at the northern pole of the planet has changed from blue to gold, scientists say.
It didn’t happen overnight though. Images captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft which has been observing the planet since 2004 shows how Saturn’s surface gradually changed its tone from November 2012 to September 2016.
The hexagon essentially looks like a rotating cloud pattern and it’s believed the shape may be produced by differences in the speeds of Saturn’s winds.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, behind Jupiter.
Like Jupiter, Saturn is a giant gas planet and is composed of similar gases including hydrogen, helium and methane.
The change in its colour is thought to be a result of the changing seasons on the planet and the result of the greater level of sunlight producing aerosols in the atmosphere.
“In particular, the change from a bluish colour to a more golden hue may be due to the increased production of photochemical hazes in the atmosphere as the north pole approaches summer solstice in May 2017,” NASA said.
According to the US space agency, the hexagon shape might act as a kind of protective shell with the “six-sided jetstream” working to prevent particles produced outside the planet from entering.
Whatever its purpose, it sure looks pretty cool — and we now know it comes in both blue and gold.
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Originally published as Saturn mysteriously changes colour