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    Polar weather on Jupiter and Saturn hints at the planets’ interior details

    January 21, 2026, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Jupiter’s North Pole showing multiple vortexes
    Caption:This infrared 3D image of Jupiter’s north pole shows a ring of 8 vortices surrounding a central cyclone. MIT researchers have now identified a mechanism that determines whether a gas giant evolves one versus multiple polar vortices.
    Credits:Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

    Over the years, passing spacecraft have observed mystifying weather patterns at the poles of Jupiter and Saturn. The two planets host very different types of polar vortices, which are huge atmospheric whirlpools that rotate over a planet’s polar region. On Saturn, a single massive polar vortex appears to cap the north pole in a curiously hexagonal shape, while on Jupiter, a central polar vortex is surrounded by eight smaller vortices, like a pan of swirling cinnamon rolls.

    Given that both planet...

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