NASA has discovered a strange atmospheric wave at Saturn’s south pole

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has observed a strange, decagon-shaped atmospheric wave at Saturn’s south pole—the first regular, multi-sided pattern ever observed in that region.

In a study recently published in the journal *Science Advances*, researchers analyzed this unusual formation and identified signs of a new atmospheric phenomenon on the gas giant.

A similar hexagon-shaped wave has long existed at Saturn’s north pole, but the southern feature differs in several important ways.

Hubble observations conducted between 2023 and 2025 allowed the team to gradually identify this decagonal structure.

“We have never seen anything like this in Saturn’s southern hemisphere,” said co-author Amy Simon, principal investigator of NASA’s OPAL program at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Since its launch into low Earth orbit in 1990, Hubble has observed the Solar System and revealed new details about our neighboring planets. One of its key projects is the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, which began with observations of Uranus in 2014 and now provides crucial data for this discovery, thanks to high-resolution images that clarified the vague hints seen by ground-based observatories.

As the seasons changed on Saturn, its south pole became better positioned for ground-based observatories. In images submitted to the Planetary Virtual Observatory Laboratory, amateur astronomers Trevor Barry and Jean-Paul Oger, along with Agustín Sánchez-Lavega from the University of the Basque Country in Spain, noticed something interesting.

The researchers initially identified a wavy band near the south pole, which in 2025 ground-based images began to suggest a decagonal structure. Hubble’s clear images ultimately confirmed the shape.

“Given the symmetry of Saturn’s jet-stream system in the northern and southern hemispheres, we have been searching for a counterpart to the northern hexagon at the south pole since 1990. Images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn between 2004 and 2017, showed no sign of a stable formation. Hubble data confirmed its presence beginning in 2023,” said lead author Agustín Sánchez-Lavega.

Valë është një strukturë interesante trediensionale që shtrihet në disa shtresa atmosferike brenda një prej rrymave jet të planetit.

Hubble mund të vëzhgojë në gjatësi vale të ndryshme, pozicioni i dukshëm i dhjetëkëndëshit ndryshon sipas thellësisë së penetrimit në atmosferë.

“Pjesa më intriguese për mua është se duket se është formuar së fundmi. Pyetja është: pse u formua tani, kur nuk e kemi parë më parë?”, ka theksuar ai.

Zbulimi i valës dhjetëkëndore është vetëm hapi i parë. Do të nevojiten vëzhgime të mëtejshme dhe modele kompjuterike për të kuptuar plotësisht fenomenin. Mbeten pyetje rreth mënyrës së formimit, kohëzgjatjes së mundshme dhe ngjashmërive me gjashtëkëndëshin verior.

Ekipi do të ndjekë me kujdes nëse forma do të evoluojë ose do të ruajë strukturën dhjetëkëndore. Studimet e ardhshme mund të japin njohuri të reja të rëndësishme mbi dinamikën atmosferike të gjigantëve të gazit dhe atë që ato na tregojnë për atmosferën e Tokës.

“KORÇA BOOM”