Spectacular New Image Hints at Wind Speeds of 600 mph on Planet Saturn

Did you think that winds on Earth could be strong? Wait until you hear about how forceful they are on Saturn. NASA has released a new image that reveals mesmerizing rings around Saturn, hinting at winds that speed at a staggering 600 miles per hour at the equator.

The new picture was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 27, 2013 using a special filter which preferentially admitted wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 757 nanometers. At the time, Cassini was about 1.3 million miles from Saturn.

The image itself shows distinct bands and zones which encircle the planet's pole. These rings are formed by strong winds, which also created the famous hexagon. In fact, these zonal winds spin off swirls and eddies, which are significant storms in their own right, according to NASA.

This image, though, isn't the only finding that scientists have made when it comes to Saturn. Recently, they also uncovered a possible new moon in the region. It's possible that the moon formed from its ring particles, which moved away from the planet before grouping up and forming the moon.

The picture of Saturn's rings is actually part of the Cassini-Huygens mission, which is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. This project aims to learn more about the ringed planet.

By imaging the planets in our solar system, researchers can learn far more about them. They can look at distinct geological features in order to find out about potential planet formation, and then apply their findings to planets outside of our solar system. This, in particular, is useful when searching out habitable planets.

Want to learn more? You can find out more about the Cassini-Huygens mission here. You can also see more Cassini images by checking out the Cassini imaging team homepage here.