Saturn's polar hexagon: still there!

[mmcirvin]

Saturn has a mysterious hexagonal cloud pattern around its north pole, photographed by the Voyagers. Right now that pole is in darkness, but Cassini VIMS got infrared pictures.

Comments

[eb-oesch.livejournal.com]

People who know about such things would immediately recognize the geometric disparity between the two poles to be a matter of weather-control aesthetics. The residents of the angular pole are either scientists or bees that have evolved intelligence on a collective as opposed to individual level. The residents of the circular pole are probably either hippies or bears, respectively. If the former, then we may further surmise that the Saturnians (Saturnalians?) exist in a state of extreme technological advancement, and the small population of scientists and engineers at the north pole, along with their janitorial robots and self-maintaining factories, are responsible for all of the planet's productions, while the majority elect lives of blissed-out indolence. Unless, that is, the cyclone at the south pole is the center of a system of raging chaos that threatens to engulf the entire planet because the natives forgot how to operate their machinery, and now a small cadre of ragged northerners fight to stave off oblivion for as long as they can while they seek to rediscover the wisdom of the Old Ones.

But I'm sticking with the bees versus bears theory, because none of the other scenarios can explain the WMD detonation signatures clearly visible in the photos.

Stupid question

[asienieizi.livejournal.com]

Knowing virtually nothing about physics I still have to ask:
Isn't this something that, given we know about physics, ought to be
impossible?
IOW: How can this be?
Layman's terms please!

Re: Stupid question

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think it should be impossible. I am no expert on atmospheres or fluid dynamics, but it seems to me that what we've got here is some sort of persistent wave with six north-south oscillations, superimposed on an otherwise circular flow around the pole.