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Saturn

Storm-clouds brooding on towering heights

Nature volume 475, pages 44–45 (2011)Cite this article

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Springtime on Saturn came in with a bang last December, when a massive storm erupted in its north temperate zone. This rare event has been observed in unprecedented detail from the ground and from space. See Letters p.71 & p.75

Saturn caught the attention of astronomers in early December 2010 when a small, prominent white spot appeared in its normally bland and hazy northern hemisphere. During the ensuing days, this spot grew in size to a diameter approaching that of Earth and developed a 'tail' of white clouds that spread eastwards until, two months later, it almost encircled the entire planet. Just five similar Great White Spot (GWS) events have been documented1,2 in the past 130 years. The events recurred at intervals of roughly Saturn's annual timescale of around 30 Earth years. What seems to be different about this occurrence are the unexpectedly early timing of its appearance (Saturn has only just begun its spring season in the northern hemisphere); its large size and powerful intensity; and the unprecedented observational resources available to measure and monitor its evolution.

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Figure 1: Saturn's great storm of 2010–11.

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  1. Peter Read is in the Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK.,

    Peter Read

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Correspondence to Peter Read.

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Read, P. Storm-clouds brooding on towering heights. Nature 475, 44–45 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/475044a

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