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Pasadena CA (SPX) Oct 21, 2004 This turbulent boundary between two latitudinal bands in Saturn's atmosphere curls repeatedly along its edge in this Cassini image. This pattern is an example of a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which occurs when two fluids of different density flow past each other at different speeds. This type of phenomenon should be fairly common on the gas-giant planets given their alternating jets and the different temperatures in their belts and zones. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Oct. 9, 2004, at a distance of 5.9 million kilometers (3.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 69 kilometers (43 miles) per pixel. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Cassini at JPL Cassini Image Team SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Explore The Ring World of Saturn and her moons Jupiter and its Moons The million outer planets of a star called Sol News Flash at Mercury
![]() ![]() With its thick, distended atmosphere, Titan's orange globe shines softly, encircled by a thin halo of purple light-scattering haze. |
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