Cassini Returns to Saturn's Poles: Seasonal Change in the Polar Vortices

• Main Authors: Hesman, B. E., Fletcher, Leigh N., Simon-Miller, A. A., Irwin, P. G. J., Bjoraker, G. L., Orton, G. S., Sinclair, J. A., Hurley, J.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration; North Pole
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20140007394

High inclination orbits during Cassini's solstice mission (2012) are providing us with our first observations of Saturn's high latitudes since the prime mission (2007). Since that time, the northern spring pole has emerged into sunlight and the southern autumn pole has disappeared into winter darkness, allowing us to study the seasonal changes occurring within the polar vortices in response to these dramatic insolation changes. Observations from the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer] have revealed (i) the continued presence of small, cyclonic polar hotspots at both spring and autumn poles; and (ii) the emergence of an infrared-bright polar vortex at the north pole, consistent with the historical record of Saturn observations from the 1980s (previous northern spring).