READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AFTER IT. FOR PICTURES AND THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE GO TO THE FOLLOWING USA TODAY WEBPAGE:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2007-03-27-saturn-hexagon_N.htm
Bizarre hexagon spotted on Saturn
One of the most bizarre weather patterns known has been photographed at Saturn, where astronomers have spotted a huge, six-sided feature circling the north pole.
Rather than the normally sinuous cloud structures seen on all planets that have atmospheres, this thing is a hexagon.
The honeycomb-like feature has been seen before. NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft imaged it more than two decades ago. Now, having spotted it with the Cassini spacecraft, scientists conclude it is a long-lasting oddity.
"This is a very strange feature, lying in a precise geometric fashion with six nearly equally straight sides," said Kevin Baines, atmospheric expert and member of Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We've never seen anything like this on any other planet. Indeed, Saturn's thick atmosphere, where circularly-shaped waves and convective cells dominate, is perhaps the last place you'd expect to see such a six-sided geometric figure, yet there it is."
The hexagon is nearly 15,000 miles (25,000 kilometers) across. Nearly four Earths could fit inside it. The thermal imagery shows the hexagon extends about 60 miles (100 kilometers) down into the clouds.
At Saturn's south pole, Cassini recently spotted a freaky human eye-like feature that resembles a hurricane.
"It's amazing to see such striking differences on opposite ends of Saturn's poles," said Bob Brown, team leader of the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer at the University of Arizona. "At the south pole we have what appears to be a hurricane with a giant eye, and at the north pole of Saturn we have this geometric feature, which is completely different."
The hexagon appears to have remained fixed with Saturn's rotation rate and axis since first glimpsed by Voyager 26 years ago. The actual rotation rate of Saturn is still uncertain, which means nobody knows exactly how long the planet's day is.
"Once we understand its dynamical nature, this long-lived, deep-seated polar hexagon may give us a clue to the true rotation rate of the deep atmosphere and perhaps the interior," Baines said.
QUESTIONS:
WHAT HAVE SCIENTISTS FOUND ON SATURN'S NORTH POLE?
WAS THIS FEATURE EVER FOUND BEFORE? IF SO, BY WHAT?
HOW BIG IS THIS FEATURE? HOW MANY EARTHS COULD FIT INSIDE IT?
WHAT DID SCIENTISTS FIND ON SATURN'S SOUTH POLE?
VOCABULARY FOR TEST:
HEXAGON
HONEYCOMB
THERMAL
IMAGERY
FREAKY
AXIS
DYNAMIC
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4 comments:
1. They have found a hexagon formed by clouds in the Saturn’s atmosphere.
2. This feature has been found before by the NASA's spacecrafts Voyager 1 and 2 twenty-six years ago.
3. The hexagon measures are estimated in nearly 15,000 miles (25,000 kilometers) across. Nearly four Earths could fit inside. It is large enough that can fit inside almost four planets with the planet earth’s size.
4. At Saturn's South Pole, scientist discovered something that seems to be a hurricane, which center looks like a human eye.
Hexagon - a geometrical figure with 6 sides with same size.
Honeycomb - a structure made by Bees, which consists of many six-sided cells with the same pattern of shape.
Thermal – a adjective used to describe something that release heat.
Imagery – the use of words or pictures to describe what we think or what we do in books, news paper, movies, etc.
Freaky – a adjective used to describe a person that behave in a crazy way or seems to be mad.
Axis – the imaginary line in which the planets turn.
Dynamic – something full with energy, and is in permanent movement.
1. They've found a huge hexagon circling the north pole.
2. Yes, NASA's voyager found the honeycomb-like feature before.
3. It is nearly 15,000miles(25,000km)across, and nearly four earth could fit inside. It is huge in general.
4. They found a freeky human eye-like feature.
1.The scientists found six-sided feature circling the north pole.
2.The honeycomb-like feature is not new, because some spacecrafts imaged it two decades ago.
3.It is nearly 15,000 miles (25,000 kilometers) across. Nearly four Earths could fit inside it.
4.Cassini recently spotted a freaky human eye-like feature that resembles a hurricane.
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