Interaction of Saturn's Hexagon With Convective Storms

In March 2020, a convective storm erupted at planetographic latitude 76 degrees N in the southern flank of Saturn's long-lived hexagonal wave. The storm reached a zonal size of 4,500 km and developed a tail extending zonally 33,000 km. Two new short-lived storms erupted in May in the hexagon edge. These storms formed after the convective storms that took place in 2018 in nearby latitudes. There were no noticeable changes in the zonal profile of Saturn's polar winds in 2018-2020. Measurements of the longitude position of the vertices of the hexagon throughout this period yield a value for its period of rotation equal to that of System III of radio rotation measured at the time of Voyagers. We report changes in the hexagon clouds related to the activity of the storms. Our study reinforces the idea that Saturn's hexagon is a well-rooted structure with a possible direct relationship with the bulk rotation of the planet.

Automated summary

The study reveals that Saturn's polar hexagonal wave structure is stable and may be directly related to the overall rotation of the planet. Several convective storms occurred in the hexagonal region of Saturn from 2018 to 2020, but there were no significant changes in the zonal profile of Saturn's polar winds.