Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI
It’s 800 times bigger than the surface area of the Earth, covers 4 billion square kilometres, and is so long it has etched a planet-wide scar around Saturn’s Northern Hemisphere.
The unnamed storm, pictured, was first discovered on December 5 2010 by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Images from the spacecraft show a massive disruption being produced by the storm and even shows the storm’s head catching up with its tail as it circles the planet.
Click here to view a larger version of the image or visit the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory website for more images.
According to Andrew Ingersoll, a member of the imaging team at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Saturn has entered a violent stage in its weather patterns, “Saturn is not like Earth and Jupiter, where storms are fairly frequent. Weather on Saturn appears to hum along placidly for years and then erupt violently. I’m excited we saw weather so spectacular on our watch.”
This is the most intense storm seen on the planet since the mission began and is 500 times larger than the previous record holder. Cassini is recording over 10 lightening strikes a second on the planet and the storm is so intense the satellite has been struggling to record each individual strike, despite its millisecond resolution.
To fully record the event, NASA crowdsourced the storm observation by asking amateur astronomers to photograph the storm to help the Agency chart its growth while they analysed the initial images from Cassini.
NASA, the ESA, and the Italian Space Agency are working together on the Cassini-Huygens mission.
Via: Bad Astronomy
AI chatbots are transforming communication, but recent headlines reveal their darker side: lawsuits over harmful content and reports…
DPI systems can just as easily exclude people from participating in some aspects of society…
HR has always had far-reaching responsibilities, however its focus has long been on employee retention…
Longview Fusion Energy Systems has announced its role as a key contributor to two of the…
As CFOs battle tough odds, accounting solutions help to drive new efficiencies More than anything,…
Could 'Kallisti' be the beginning of another Trojan Horse scenario? perspective The US Defense Advanced…
View Comments
Amazing. The picture almost looks computer generated. Imagine if a storm that size and with that intensity hit Earth!
Amazing. The picture almost looks computer generated. Imagine if a storm that size and with that intensity hit Earth!
@StephRWong It would make "The Day After Tomorrow" look like a documentary! NASA's pictures are just amazing, and it's such a pity the Shuttle Program is finishing.
@thesociable I know right?! and yeah it's sad, but they've made history! I hope their last mission goes safely.
@StephRWong It would make "The Day After Tomorrow" look like a documentary! NASA's pictures are just amazing, and it's such a pity the Shuttle Program is finishing.
@thesociable I know right?! and yeah it's sad, but they've made history! I hope their last mission goes safely.
Awesome. Wish i can go outer space.