Swirls And Eddies

Saturn puts on a mesmerizing display in this image from August 7, 2004. Turbulent swirls and eddies are visible throughout the southern hemisphere.

By Space Daily Editorial Team · Editorial process

Published September 12, 2004 · Updated March 17, 2026

Saturn puts on a mesmerizing display in this image from August 7, 2004. Turbulent swirls and eddies are visible throughout the southern hemisphere.

In particular, the boundary of the dark southern polar region displays a prominent oval-shaped storm near the lower right.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera at a distance of 8.4 million kilometers (5.2 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to infrared light.

The image scale is 50 kilometers (31 miles) per pixel.

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