Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Hubble: Decagon Around Saturn's South Pole

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for September 8, 2026 is “Hubble: Decagon Around Saturn's South Pole,” an image. It is credited to NASA, ESA, STScI, HST; A. Sánchez-Lavega (UPV), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. Wong (UC Berkeley); Processing: A. Pagan (STScI). The original explanation runs about 163 words.

A dark field has a bright circular disk near the center. Around the center of this disk are bands. One of the bands appear particularly geometric and appears to have 10 sides. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, HST; A. Sánchez-Lavega (UPV), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. Wong (UC Berkeley); Processing: A. Pagan (STScI) Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Why are Saturn’s poles geometric? Saturn’s North Pole has been known to be surrounded by a hexagonal (6 sides) cloud since discovery in 1987 in data taken by NASA’s Voyager spacecrafts, which quickly flew past the ringed world in the early 1980s.”

— APOD editors, September 8, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
September 8, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, HST; A. Sánchez-Lavega (UPV), A. Simon (NASA-GSFC), M. Wong (UC Berkeley); Processing: A. Pagan (STScI)
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 163 words

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Topics in this entry

SaturnHubble Space Telescope

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.