Eye of the storm

29 April 2013 - The international Cassini spacecraft has found a powerful hurricane at Saturn's north pole, surrounded by the curious rotating hexagonal band of clouds. The images were taken by Cassini's camera on 27 November 2012 and are the first close-up views of this storm, which has been churning since at least 2006. NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft did not have a clear view of this part of Saturn's north pole when it flew by in 1981, although it did observe the hexagonal band of clouds that is wide enough to fit almost four Earths inside. When Cassini arrived in 2004, Saturn's north pole was dark because it was the middle of its winter. A visible-light view had to wait for the passing of the equinox in August 2009. Only then did sunlight begin flooding Saturn's northern hemisphere. The view also required a change in the angle of Cassini's orbits around Saturn so the spacecraft could see the poles.