Categories: Science

NASA’s Cassini satellite images massive storm encircling Saturn

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.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

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

Ajit Jain

Ajit Jain is marketing and sales head at Octal Info Solution, a leading iPhone app development company and offering platform to hire Android app developers for your own app development project. He is available to connect on Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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.

Recent Posts

AI and the Dopamine Trap: How Algorithms Are Rewiring Our Social Cravings

New research shows AI companions can lift mood and teach social skills, but only when…

1 day ago

Hate speech, deepfakes & false info undermine UN work: comms chief

Hate speech is a launching point for crackdowns on narratives that impede UN agendas: perspective…

1 day ago

Making Sense brings strategic insight to the SIM Hartford Chapter

On June 4, technology executives gathered at the SIM Hartford chapter presided over by Fariba…

3 days ago

‘Digital disinformation undermines trust in climate & health authorities’: WHO Pan European Commission on Climate & Health

The PECCH is an attempt to persuade us into believing that climate & health policies…

5 days ago

WEF ‘Summer Davos’ in China to tackle transhumanism, AI & One Health agendas

The program agenda for the World Economic Forum's (WEF) 16th Annual Meeting of the New…

1 week ago

10 design and architecture writers to put on your radar this year

It’s easy to get caught up in the visuals—perfectly styled rooms, dramatic before-and-afters, bold architectural…

1 week ago