As Cassini spacecraft approaches the end of its mission, it continues to deliver stunning images of Saturn and its moons. One of the latest image shows a massive jet stream twice the size of the Earth.
As its mission will close to the end, Cassini spacecraft continues to deliver more detailed images of Saturn. NASA plans to have the Cassini's Grand Finale on Sept. 15, 2017, 20 years after its service.
In the first dive between Saturn and its ring, Cassini spacecraft took picture of the closer image of Saturn. Cassini spacecraft took a stunning image of the massive hexagonal storm at the North Pole of Saturn as it made its first dive. The storm has a 20,000 mile (32,190 km) width, a twice of the size of the Earth.
The latest image shows the clear picture of the massive jet stream in the North Pole of the planet. Previously, the area in the north pole region of Saturn was always in shadow as Cassini spacecraft passed through. This time, the region enjoyed full sunlight, enabling Cassini to take a clear picture of the region with a reflected light of the sun.
"The north pole of Saturn sits at the center of its own domain," NASA said about the Cassini's picture, as quoted by Mail Online. "Around it swirl the clouds, driven by the fast winds of Saturn.'"
The latest image from Cassini spacecraft of the Saturn's north pole showed the air flows in a variety of speed, with clouds forming at the different heights. This image unveiled a mystery of hexagonal jetstream on the surface of Saturn, as it shows the storm is made of a band of upper-atmospheric winds, thus creating its shape.
Cassini spacecraft reached the orbit of Saturn in 2004 after a seven years journey. For 10 years, the space probe has continued to deliver the image of Saturn and its moons, including from Titan, its biggest moon. Watch the video from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory showing the first dive of Cassini into the Saturn below:
