Hubble image archive
Decagon on Saturn’s South Pole (Color)
Two views of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveal a giant, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling the planet’s south pole. The feature, called a decagon, is the first large, persistent, regular-sided pattern observed at Saturn’s southern hemisphere. By comparin...
- Date
- Sep 8, 2026
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- decagon-on-saturns-south-pole-color
Two views of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveal a giant, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling the planet’s south pole. The feature, called a decagon, is the first large, persistent, regular-sided pattern observed at Saturn’s southern hemisphere.
By comparing observations taken over several years, researchers found that the pattern has become increasingly distinct since 2023, suggesting they may be witnessing a new atmospheric phenomenon develop on the gas giant. The observations, captured by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, were made as part of Hubble’s Outer Planet Atmosphere’s Legacy (OPAL) program, which has monitored the Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune for more than a decade.
The “X” and dashed circle in the image on the right represent where data was not captured by Hubble.
Image Details
About the Data
| Data Description | These images were created with Hubble data from proposal: 17843 (A. Simon). |
|---|---|
| Instrument | WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | 29 Aug 2025 |
| Filters | F395N, F502N, F631N |
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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov