A wave dynamical interpretation of Saturn's polar hexagon

Journal Article · Fri Mar 02 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.247.4946.1061· OSTI ID:5260850

Allison, M ^[1]; Godfrey, D A ^[2]; Beebe, R F ^[3]

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1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, New York, NY (USA)
2. National Optical Astronomy Observatories, Tuscon AZ (USA)
3. New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces (USA)

The hexagonal, pole-centered cloud feature in Saturn's northern atmosphere, as revealed in Voyager close-encounter imaging mosaics, may be interpreted as a stationary Rossby wave. The wave is embedded within a sharply peaked eastward jet (of 100 meters per second) and appears to be perturbed by at least one anticyclonic oval vortex immediately to the south. The effectively exact observational determination of the horizontal wave number and phase speed, applied to a simple model dispersion relation, suggests that the wave is vertically trapped and provides a diagnostic template for further modeling of the deep atmospheric stratification.

• OSTI ID: 5260850
• Journal Information: Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States), Vol. 247:4946; ISSN 0036-8075
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
STRATIFICATION
SATURN PLANET
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
CLOUDS
DYNAMICS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MOTION
VORTICES
VOYAGER SPACE PROBES
ATMOSPHERES
MECHANICS
PLANETS
SPACE VEHICLES
VEHICLES
640107* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Planetary Phenomena