26 August 2014
Fig. 1
A Cassini spacecraft image of the north polar vortex in Saturn, the ringed giant planet
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Like a giant eye for the ringed giant planet, Saturn's huge vortex (Fig. 1) on its north pole appears to gaze at NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, while the probe was imaging it.
Measurements have revealed that the enormous vortexis 2,000 km across, and has staggering cloud speeds of 550 km/h.
For color images of Saturn’s mesmerizing eye and north polar region, please visit the following links.
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpegMod/PIA14946_modest.jpg
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/animation/PIA14944
Fig. 1 was taken in infrared light, with Cassini’s narrow-angle camera, on 2 April 2014, using a set of spectral filters. Cassini was at a distance of approximately 2.2 million km from Saturn.
References
NASA
www.nasa.gov/
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist