Saturn’s north pole is shaped like a hexagon because of super fast winds whipping around and making this crazy wave pattern. The planet’s fast spin keeps it stable. Wild, right?
That's so cool. But how do the winds cause it to form the hexagonal shape? I'm just a dummy, but I would expect centripetal/centrifugal forces to force it into a round shape.
You’d think centripetal forces would make it round, but the hexagon forms because of faster winds colliding with slower winds around it, creating a stable wave pattern. Saturn’s spin and fluid dynamics lock it into shape. Here an example on polygon formation in fluids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6L0vKP1_m4&t=105s
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How come?