Saturn

Saturn Photos: Cassini Sees Swirling North Pole Storm

Chris DolcePublished: Dec 3, 2012, 5:37 PM ESTweather.com

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Peering into the Storm

NASA

This image from NASA's Cassini mission was taken on Nov. 27, 2012, with Cassini's narrow-angle camera. The camera was pointing toward Saturn from approximately 224,618 miles away. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

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NASA's Cassini spacecraft sent back breathtaking images of a massive swirling storm near the north pole of Saturn. The first four images above show the spectacular vortex that was photographed on November 27, 2012 at a distance of around 250,000 miles from Saturn.

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• Vortex on Saturn
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A story about the storm on NASA's website says that the Cassini spacecraft has been traveling the Saturnian system in a set of inclined, or tilted, orbits that give mission scientists a vertigo-inducing view of Saturn's polar regions. This perspective has yielded images of roiling storm clouds and the swirling vortex at the center of Saturn's famed north polar hexagon.
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This is not the first time a storm like this has been photographed by Cassini. In 2008, a similar storm was captured over the south pole (see fifth image above).
The Cassini mission to Saturn started with its launch into space on October 15, 1997. The spacecraft arrived at Saturn for the first time on June 30, 2004.