Saturn has a huge hurricane-like storm at its South Pole. The vast, swirling vortex is about 8,000 km (5,000 miles) across! The Cassini spacecraft captured this image in October 2006. Click on image for full size (93 Kb) Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

Saturn's South Pole is an extremely stormy and surprisingly warm region. A vast, hurricane-like storm centered on the South Pole dominates the area. Astonishingly, the pole is also warmer than any other place on the ringed planet.

Infrared images from the Keck telescope in Hawaii in 2005 provided astronomers with a "thermal map" of Saturn. With it, scientists were able to see which parts of Saturn are especially warm and which places are cooler. To their astonishment, the astronomers saw that Saturn's South Pole is the hottest part of the ringed planet! A bright dot at the pole in the infrared image indicated that the temperature at the pole is about 60° C (108° F) higher than at the equator! One scientist commented that if this temperature pattern were seen on Earth, it would be "like discovering that Antarctica is hotter than the Sahara Desert". Saturn's Southern Hemisphere has been experiencing the summer season, and thus greater warming by the Sun, for several years (a year on Saturn is almost 30 Earth years long, so seasons on the ringed planet last 7+ years). However, the extent of the heating at the pole and the sharp rise in temperature very close to the pole cannot be explained by seasonal warming alone.

On Earth, a large atmospheric structure called a "polar vortex" often forms over each pole during its winter season. Earthly polar vortices trap especially cold air around the poles. On Saturn, the atmospheric flows around the South Pole are reminiscent of the polar vortex structures on Earth. However, they seem to trap warmer air - not colder - near the poles. Scientists are trying to figure out why this is the case.

High temperatures at the pole probably provide the energy that drives the enormous hurricane-like storm found there. Discovered by the Cassini spacecraft in October 2006, the storm has spiral cloud bands, high wind speeds, and a gigantic eyewall reminiscent of hurricanes on Earth. Unlike Earthly hurricanes, which move around, Saturn's "polar hurricane" seems locked in place over the pole.

How big of a storm is this "polar hurricane"? Much larger than its Earthly counterparts, the storm on Saturn extends outward thousands of kilometers (miles) from the pole. The central eye is about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) in diameter. Clouds in the eyewall tower 30 to 75 kilometers (19 to 47 miles) above their surroundings, some 2 to 5 times higher than in hurricanes on Earth. Winds around the polar vortex can reach speeds of 550 km/hour (342 miles per hour), spawning hundreds of smaller, swirling storms.

Saturn's "polar hurricane" is the first storm with an eyewall discovered beyond Earth. Even Jupiter's Great Red Spot, which is much larger than Saturn's storm, does not have an eye or an eyewall.

Saturn has a huge, swirling storm at its South Pole. The storm is a bit like a hurricane on Earth. This gigantic storm is about 8,000 km (5,000 miles) across! Click on image for full size (93 Kb) Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

Saturn's South Pole is very stormy. It is also surprisingly warm. A huge, hurricane-like storm is centered on the South Pole. Astronomers recently discovered that the pole is also warmer than any other place on the ringed planet.

Scientists have created a "heat map" of Saturn using infrared "light". It shows which parts of Saturn are warmer and which places are cooler. They were surprised when they saw that Saturn's South Pole is the hottest part of the ringed planet. A bright dot at the pole in the infrared picture shows that the temperature at the pole is about 60° C (108° F) higher than at the equator! One scientist said that if we found this temperature pattern on Earth it would be "like discovering that Antarctica is hotter than the Sahara Desert".

On Earth, cold air often gets trapped near the poles during winter. Scientists call this mass of cold air a "polar vortex". The swirling air near Saturn's South Pole looks a lot like a polar vortex. However, on Saturn the vortex traps warm air near the pole. Scientists are still trying to figure out how the vortex on Saturn works.

The warm air at the South Pole probably provides the energy that keeps the hurricane-like storm going. Like hurricanes on Earth, the storm at Saturn's pole has spiral bands of clouds, high wind speeds, and a gigantic eyewall. The "hurricane" on Saturn seems to be "locked" in place over the pole. That is different from Earthly hurricanes, which move around.

Saturn's "polar hurricane" is much larger than hurricanes on Earth. The storm on Saturn is thousands of kilometers (miles) across. The eye at the storm's center is about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) in diameter. Clouds in the eyewall tower 30 to 75 kilometers (19 to 47 miles) above their surroundings. That is 2 to 5 times higher than in hurricanes on Earth. Winds around the polar vortex can reach speeds of 550 km/hour (342 miles per hour).

The "polar hurricane" on Saturn is the first storm with an eyewall discovered beyond Earth. Even Jupiter's Great Red Spot, which is much larger than Saturn's storm, does not have an eye or an eyewall.

Saturn has a huge, swirling storm at its South Pole. The storm is a bit like a hurricane on Earth. This gigantic storm is about 8,000 km (5,000 miles) across! Click on image for full size (93 Kb) Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

If you wanted to go someplace warm for a vacation, would you choose the South Pole? If you lived on Saturn you might! Saturn's South Pole is the warmest place on the ringed planet. Watch out for the weather, though. There is a really huge storm like a hurricane right at Saturn's South Pole.

Scientists made a "heat map" of Saturn using infrared "light". They were surprised when they looked at it. It showed that the warmest place on Saturn is at the South Pole. One scientist said that if we found this temperature pattern on Earth it would be "like discovering that Antarctica is hotter than the Sahara Desert".

There is a really, really big storm at Saturn's South Pole, too. I looks sort of like a hurricane on Earth. The storm has spiral bands of clouds, high wind speeds, and a gigantic eyewall. Hurricanes on Earth move around, but the one on Saturn stays in one spot right over the pole.

Saturn's "hurricane" is really, really big. It is much larger than hurricanes on Earth. Clouds in the eyewall tower 30 to 75 kilometers (19 to 47 miles) above their surroundings. That is 2 to 5 times higher than in hurricanes on Earth! Winds around Saturn's pole can blow as fast as 550 km/hour (342 miles per hour).

The "polar hurricane" on Saturn is the first storm with an eyewall discovered beyond Earth. Even Jupiter's Great Red Spot, which is much larger than Saturn's storm, does not have an eye or an eyewall.