Hubble spots mysterious decagon swirling around Saturn's south pole

2026-09-02 18:00 UTC – 2026-09-03 12:41 UTC

Neutral summary

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a giant 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn's south pole, a feature that has only emerged in the past few years. The decagon, first faintly visible in 2023 images and clearer by 2025, is the first large regular-sided jet pattern observed in the planet's southern hemisphere, complementing the famous northern hexagon known since the 1980s. Its sides span from 13,000 to over 16,000 kilometers, larger than Earth's diameter. Researchers say the structure appears less stable than its northern counterpart and hope further observations will reveal why it formed and whether it could persist for decades.

How it was framed

Outlets: 15. Countries: 8. Facts in the shared core: 1.

Publication timeline

2026-09-02 18:00 · Scientific American (outlet profile)
Scientists discover a mysterious wave shaped like a decagon in Saturn's atmosphere. The strange structure appears to have formed recently, but nobody can explain exactly why
2026-09-02 18:00 · G1 (outlet profile)
Cientistas descobrem onda de 10 lados perto do polo sul de Saturno; entenda. Imagem do polo sul de Saturno feita pelo Telescópio Espacial Hubble em 29 de agosto de 2025. NASA/ESA/A. Sánchez-Lavega (Universidade do País…
2026-09-02 18:00 · The Independent (outlet profile)
Scientists find a huge 10-sided wave pattern swirling in the clouds over Saturn's south pole. Scientists have discovered an enormous 10-sided wave pattern in the icy ammonia clouds over Saturn's south pole
2026-09-02 18:00 · RTVI.com (outlet profile)
Астрономы открыли на полюсе Сатурна загадочный десятиугольник. Астрономы впервые обнаружили десятиугольную вихревую структуру вокруг южного полюса Сатурна — в отличие от устойчивого шестиугольника на севере планеты, она…
2026-09-02 18:02 · Spektrum (outlet profile)
Seltsame Wolkenmuster am Saturnsüdpol: Ein polares Dekagon auf Saturn. Auf Bildern des Weltraumteleskops Hubble wurde ein Dekagon aus Wolken um den Südpol von Saturn entdeckt, das erst ab dem Jahr 2023 entstanden ist un…
2026-09-02 20:40 · Phys.org (outlet profile)
Hubble tracks new decagon encircling Saturn's south pole. Recent observations with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have revealed a giant, evolving, 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn's south pole. This discovery…
2026-09-02 21:00 · Space.com (outlet profile)
Astronomers discover mysterious 10-sided cloud structure at Saturn's south pole. A mysterious giant 10-sided pattern of clouds has recently formed around Saturn's south pole, a new study finds.
2026-09-03 07:18 · N+1 (outlet profile)
Огромный декагон сформировался вокруг южного полюса Сатурна. Огромный декагон сформировался вокруг южного полюса Сатурна
2026-09-03 08:46 · Xataka (outlet profile)
Astrónomos aficionados encontraron algo raro en Saturno. El Hubble acaba de confirmar qué era: un decágono de nubes en su polo sur. Saturno es un planeta fascinante . Como una gran burbuja de gas, que flotaría si se int…
2026-09-03 08:55 · Numerama (outlet profile)
Hubble repère un décagone mystérieux au pôle Sud de Saturne, qui intrigue les astronomes. De nouvelles images de Saturne prises par Hubble révèlent une forme étonnante : une structure géométrique à dix côtés. Il pourrai…
2026-09-03 10:00 · CNews (outlet profile)
Saturne : le télescope Hubble découvre un mystérieux décagone plus grand que la Terre. Saturne, sixième planète du Système solaire, surprend encore la diaspora scientifique avec une immense onde atmosphérique dessinant…
2026-09-03 10:58 · iXBT (outlet profile)
Сатурн способен удивить не только своими кольцами. На планете нашли новую геометрическую аномалию — гигантский атмосферный десятиугольник. Ученые обнаружили в атмосфере Сатурна гигантскую десятиугольную структуру из обл…
2026-09-03 11:51 · Heise (outlet profile)
Dekagon: Weltraumteleskop Hubble fotografiert zehneckigen Sturm auf dem Saturn. Der sechseckige Sturm am Nordpol des Saturn ist seit Jahrzehnten bekannt, aber längst nicht erklärt. Nun hat sich überraschend am Südpol ei…
2026-09-03 12:37 · N1 Srbija (outlet profile)
Saturn ponovo iznenadio naučnike – "Habl" otkrio džinovski desetougao na južnom polu. Više od četiri decenije Saturnov šestougao jedna je od najneobičnijih poznatih atmosferskih pojava u Sunčevom sistemu. Sada su snimci…
2026-09-03 12:41 · ScienceDaily (outlet profile)
NASA scientists discover a giant 10-sided pattern on Saturn. A huge 10-sided atmospheric pattern has appeared around Saturn’s south pole, giving the planet a surprising counterpart to its famous northern hexagon. Hubble…

Factual core

Astronomers discovered a mysterious decagonal vortex structure around Saturn's south pole.

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