NASA’s Hubble reveals new details on Saturn’s south pole and cosmic bubbles
Hubble tracks new decagon encircling Saturn’s south pole (Esa.Int)
Summary: Hubble observations have revealed a giant, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn’s south pole, the first large regular-sided jet pattern seen in the planet’s southern hemisphere. The feature, confirmed in Hubble data back to 2023, sits within a powerful jet stream and extends through multiple atmospheric layers. It appears similar to Saturn’s northern hexagon but is distinctly different, and researchers are treating it as a rare opportunity to watch a giant atmospheric pattern develop. The findings, published in Science Advances, were made possible by Hubble’s OPAL programme, which has photographed the outer planets annually for more than a decade.
Why it matters: The discovery gives scientists the rare opportunity to watch a giant atmospheric pattern develop, and further study from Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope, plus computer models, could help determine what drives the wave and what it reveals about atmospheric dynamics of giant planets throughout the Solar System.
"We’ve never seen anything quite like this in Saturn’s southern hemisphere,” said Amy Simon, study co-author and OPAL principal investigator, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The northern hexagon has been there every time we’ve looked for more than 40 years. This feature is different – it appears to be strengthening, giving us the rare opportunity to watch a giant atmospheric pattern develop." — ESA.INT
Commentary: The decagon’s recent emergence, after decades of searching, raises the question of why it formed now, and its vertical extent suggests it is not just a cloud-level feature. Hubble’s long operational duration and the OPAL programme’s regular observations are enabling findings that single snapshots would miss. The team plans to continue observing to determine whether the decagon settles into a stable configuration like the northern hexagon or continues to evolve.
Date: September 02, 2026 02:00 PM ET
URL: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Hubble_tracks_new_decagon_encircling_Saturn_s_south_pole
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