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One hypothesis, developed at Oxford University, is that the hexagon forms where there is a steep latitudinal gradient in the speed of the atmospheric winds in Saturn's atmosphere. [22] Similar regular shapes were created in the laboratory when a circular tank of liquid was rotated at different speeds at its centre and periphery.
The sun passes south to north through the ring plane when Saturn's heliocentric longitude is 173.6 degrees (e.g. 11 August 2009), about the time Saturn crosses from Leo to Virgo. 15.7 years later Saturn's longitude reaches 353.6 degrees and the sun passes to the south side of the ring plane.
Saturn's atmosphere exhibits a banded pattern similar to Jupiter's, but Saturn's bands are much fainter and are much wider near the equator. The nomenclature used to describe these bands is the same as on Jupiter. Saturn's finer cloud patterns were not observed until the flybys of the Voyager spacecraft during the 1980s.
Saturn's atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. Saturn has 53 known moons, with an additional 29 moons awaiting confirmation. That's a total of 82 moons.
Ring particles modifying Saturn’s upper atmosphere, changing its composition, scientists say. Skip to main content. Sign in. Mail. 24/7 Help. For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 ...
Saturn's moon Mimas is known for its uncanny resemblance to the dreaded Death Star in the original "Star Wars" movie. ... with a death plunge into the huge ringed planet's atmosphere. Cassini's ...
The atmosphere of Uranus is composed primarily of gas and various ices. It is about 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane and traces of acetylene. Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus has a banded cloud layer, although this is not readily visible without enhancement of visual images of the planet.
Atmospheric super-rotation is a phenomenon where a planet's atmosphere rotates faster than the planet itself. This behavior is observed in the atmospheres of Venus, Titan, Jupiter, and Saturn. Venus exhibits the most extreme super-rotation, with its atmosphere circling the planet in four Earth days, much faster than the planet's own rotation of ...