Hexagon on Saturn

20 Responses to “Hexagon on Saturn”

1. Elizabeth Says:
   October 10th, 2009 at 11:26 PM

   That’s very odd. I don’t know what to make of it. How often do geometric shapes appear in nature? What would its purpose be if it were something aliens created? I saw Saturn once through a telescope. It was a tiny, cute little green thing.

2. Praseodymi Says:
   October 11th, 2009 at 1:53 AM

   “How often do geometric shapes appear in nature?”

   Very,very often. Honeycombs are hexagons, and a falling liquid is a perfect sphere.

3. Mindplay Says:
   October 11th, 2009 at 2:59 AM

   A falling liquid is not at all spherical.

   Hexagons are used to pack objects into a space. They are found in nature when it is advantageous to pack objects efficiently such as honeycombs or camouflage or mineral formations. I don’t know why a single hexagon would appear in nature.

4. Praseodymi Says:
   October 11th, 2009 at 3:46 AM

   “A falling liquid is not at all spherical. ”

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_tower

   So, pray tell, how does that work?

5. Praseodymi Says:
   October 11th, 2009 at 3:59 AM

   While researching this to find possible answers I stumbled across this line on Saturn’s Wikipedia page:

   “The pattern’s origin is a matter of much speculation. Most astronomers seem to think some sort of standing-wave pattern in the atmosphere; but the hexagon might be a novel sort of aurora. Polygon shapes have been replicated in spinning buckets of fluid in a laboratory.”

   Chances are that any one of these explanations are correct.

6. OT3P_Wolf Says:
   October 11th, 2009 at 8:18 AM

   Maybe aliens are toying with us because it’s fun. I bet they’re getting a good laugh!

7. Joe Says:
   October 11th, 2009 at 10:43 AM

   I believe it is because he had a habit of eating his children, so his wife tricked him by feeding him a six-sided stone instead of his sixth child.

   I have a weird thing about Saturn. The god Saturn freaks me out and the planet Saturn also seems to freak me out too.

   The math of meteorology and fluid dynamics ain’t easy. They rely on computer simulations because they can’t come figure exact solutions to the underlying differential equations, so it might be a while before this mystery is answered. I would guess it has something to do with the magnetic field making straight line of cylindrical wind currents.

8. Tania Says:
   October 11th, 2009 at 10:55 PM

   I have no idea what it is, but it sure is interesting. Saturn is my favorite planet (well.. besides earth) because it’s so weird and mysterious. Doing some research I found that Saturn actually has warm poles, which is an exception to any other planets. I think this hexagon may be a manifestation of how the planet is trying to adapt in order to create life. Or not.. I really have no idea, and I’m very tired.

   Geometry in nature is very common, though it never ceases to amaze; for example the snail’s shell, it forms a perfect spiral.

9. Adam Janzi Says:
   October 12th, 2009 at 5:20 AM

   This is really strange.
   How all the strange generations before us (egypt, mayans etc) have a connection to space through pyramids, calendars and signs.
   Religion also does have a connection to space.
   All of this, is somehow astrological.

   It’s a strange world haha.

10. Wynter Says:
    October 12th, 2009 at 8:43 AM

    Geometry is found everywhere in nature! It’s incredibly common! Also, just because we humans have never seen anything like this on other planets doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist elsewhere in the universe.

    Scientists believe this is similar to the earth’s polar vortex…and a polar vortex may be located near one or both of the planet’s poles (for example, Venus has a double vortex – or vortexes found on both poles but Mars has only one.) I think it sounds like a completely a natural occurrence.

    To quote Praseodymi: “This shape is commonly formed in laboratories in spinning buckets of fluid.” To me, evidence that points to this is a polar cyclone (or vortex). Just because it isn’t rounded (like natural cyclones here on earth are), doesn’t mean it’s not one.

    Phenomenon, yes. Beautiful, yes. Did aliens create it? I highly doubt it.

11. Akkinokage Says:
    October 12th, 2009 at 3:35 PM

    It’s the Infernal Portal of Doom that spawned my evil, gibbering, soul sucking, demonically undead, father’s family members.

12. MorrigainMillimeter Says:
    October 12th, 2009 at 3:36 PM

    Oddly… gorgeous, in a way.

13. Rizz Rustbolt Says:
    October 13th, 2009 at 4:44 AM

    It’s cats.

14. Mariana Jó de Souza Says:
    October 13th, 2009 at 12:27 PM

    hey. check this out: a homophobic anti-smoke ad. sad…
    http://www.theonion.com/content/video/new_anti_smoking_ads_warn_teens?utm_source=videoembed

15. ReNaVisum Says:
    October 13th, 2009 at 10:17 PM

    @Mariana

    First of all that has nothing to do with hexagons on Saturn. xD

    Second of all, you know you linked to The Onion, right? A fake news show?

16. Beelzebjörn Says:
    October 14th, 2009 at 6:24 AM

    It’s a pretty neat little reminder to stay humble, and remember we don’t know everything.

17. Beelzebjörn Says:
    October 14th, 2009 at 6:27 AM

    … Or an infernal portal of doom.

18. Jason Says:
    October 14th, 2009 at 6:41 PM

    The hexagon could be anything. Look at how they found another ring on saturn going over differently then the other rings.

19. asshole Says:
    October 15th, 2009 at 5:47 AM

    Let’s address this scientific issue the old-fashioned way: God did it! Why? Because he wanted to! There, wasn’t that easy? And some of you wanted to get into math-type stuff.

20. saphireoflove Says:
    March 16th, 2010 at 9:28 PM

    if a falling object is not a perfect sphere, explain the galactic condensation of matter; does not gravity cause all matter to evenly distribute itslelf? what you see in falling matter is only a small glimpse of time.. the falling matter is yet reverberating with itself. give said matter a few milennia to come to terms with itself and come to rest. it will separtate, but it will still be bonded by the law of gravity, such as water rises from oil, and helieum rises from oxygen. the universe will again condense back into a single point, and the big bang will commence agian.

    my honest guess is that the unique geometric shape on the pole of saturn is caused by either the magnetic flow of the planet, or, better yet the spin of the internal structure of our fair solar sister.. which indeed affects the magnetic patterns of a planet

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