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Possible Clue On Saturn's Hexagon?

Posted by kdawson on from the spinning-buckets dept.

permaculture sends us to nature.com for a description of new (and old) research that might possibly shed some light on the origin of the hexagon around Saturn's north pole. Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark have spun buckets of water, in much the same way Isaac Newton did, and photographed geometrical whirlpools developing. As the buckets are spun up, central holes develop that are first elliptical, then triangular, then square, pentagonal, and hexagonal. A UT Austin researcher is quoted as saying it's unlikely this process is behind the Saturn mystery.

28 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. Intelligent Design by Palmyst · · Score: 4, Funny

    Slam dunk. Don't even try to refute it.

    1. Re:Intelligent Design by jdray · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well, while the article seems to have a clue what they're talking about, you certainly don't. Intelligent design really is a bunch of lazy researchers...

      Your argument a) misses the joke, and b) holds water less than the parent. Clues must be in short supply, as you indicated.

      --
      The Spoon
      Updated 6/28/2011
    2. Re:Intelligent Design by Mattintosh · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Intelligent Design has its merits, but this doesn't even fall into the same category. This is more of an implementation detail. And while the design might be intelligent, the ongoing implementation is surely governed by a ruleset long-since finalized.

      That's the one fact that most ID-ists and Evolutionists both miss, and it applies in nearly every argument they have. The problem is, it forces them both to STFU if they accept that fact, and when you have an agenda to push, STFU-ing is the last thing you want to do.

      Can't we all just STFU along?

      (BTW, your joke is not lost on me. I find it humorous as a dig on ID-ists even though I myself believe in a Creator.)

    3. Re:Intelligent Design by Johnny5000 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Intelligent Design has its merits

      No, actually.. it really doesn't.
      Not scientific merits, anyway.

      --
      The libertarian solution to the failures of capitalism is to apply more capitalism til the failures are fixed.
  2. Settlers of Catan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The gods are slowly starting to build a Settlers of Catan board. Expect to see prices of wool & brick skyrocket here on earth.

    1. Re:Settlers of Catan by Drey · · Score: 5, Funny

      Obligatory Settler's Joke: "I have wood for sheep."

  3. Short Explaination? by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Black monolith.

    cue Ligeti's "Atmospheres"...

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
    1. Re:Short Explaination? by ColdGrits · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Indeed, although just the final track "Echoes" which does work exceedingly well when started as "Beyond The infinite" starts when he goes to investigate the black monolith at Jupiter.

      HOWEVER, did you know that although the film has the monolith at Jupiter (due to sfx limitations at the time), the original storyline and the novel both have the monolith at SATURN.

      See, it all falls into place now...

      --
      People should not be afraid of their governments - Governments should be afraid of their people.
  4. First time around... by Dan+East · · Score: 4, Informative

    This was brought to light the first time around.

    Dan East

    --
    Better known as 318230.
    1. Re:First time around... by Rei · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well... they may not be directly related, but it is a demonstration of the fact that geometric shapes with relatively straight sides can be formed in a moving fluid. Even if the mechanism is different, it's a nice demonstration that the concept isn't far fetched.

      --
      "It felt almost as good as stealing cars from grandma." -- Margaret Thatcher, probably.
  5. Slow news day... by Floritard · · Score: 3, Informative

    The whirlpools theory was actually linked to in the comments for the original article on slashdot about a month ago. I guess one way to get new stories is to harvest from the comments on old stories.

  6. Re:Chaos theory by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Congratulations on missing the entire fucking point. When we find the mechanism behind one of these "random occurrences" we learn more about the way the universe works and it enables us to make predictions. This is called science. It's useful, as you would not have that computer in front of you with which you can spout off about things you don't understand without the scientific method.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  7. I've got it by quokkapox · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's where the bees have gone. They've flown to Saturn and are constructing a gigantic honeycomb.

    --
    it's a blue bright blue Saturday hey hey
    1. Re:I've got it by Emperor+Zombie · · Score: 4, Funny

      Honeycomb's big, Yeah, yeah, yeah.

      --
      I'm so excited I just made water in my pantaloons!
    2. Re:I've got it by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 3, Funny

      Cool. I always wondered where the Honeycomb Hideout was.

      --
      This guy's the limit!
    3. Re:I've got it by K'Lyre · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's not small. No, no no.

  8. Re:Chaos theory by Tofystedeth · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not to mention there is a difference between "Hey, that cloud over there looks kinda like a butterfly if I squint and turn it sideways!" and "Hey! That enormous section of the north pole of an entire planet looks remarkably like a regular hexagon!" One is basically a rorschach (sp) test. The other is a nifty example of geometry cropping up in nature on a gigantic scale, and for an extended period of time. I don't know how long its been there, but according to the article it has been stable for at least 26 years. In addition, understanding how it works would help them understand more about what goes on underneath Saturn's surface.

    --
    "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Drink deeply or not at all."
  9. Two Minor Things by user24 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    firstly, I think this is the first time I've seen a slashdot article refute itself in the summary " Possible Clue On Saturn's Hexagon? ... A UT Austin researcher is quoted as saying it's unlikely this process is behind the Saturn mystery".

    secondly, are we even sure there is a hexagon? The face on mars was just a freak of low-resolution photography, couldn't the same sort of human error be responsible here?

    1. Re:Two Minor Things by poopdeville · · Score: 2, Informative

      The face on mars was just a freak of low-resolution photography, couldn't the same sort of human error be responsible here?

      No. The hexagon is huge. See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimed ia/pia09185.html

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
    2. Re:Two Minor Things by jfengel · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The face on Mars was really more a trick of the shadows, exacerbated by the low resolution photography. This is on the relatively smooth surface of Saturn, without shadows. This is also a rather simple shape, unlike a face, which we have special circuitry in our brains to recognize (like the face of Jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich.)

      We have much higher resolution pictures of this phenomenon relative to its scale. It could be a lot of things, including mere coincidence, though it seems more likely to be real. Unlike a face, which would have required a civilization (or wild coincidence) to create, there's reason to believe that there is a physical mechanism. It just may or may not be the one suggested in the article (though I'm willing to bet it's at least distantly related).

  10. Good news, everyone! by swid27 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Once again, life imitates Futurama.

  11. Dept of Redundancy dept. by argStyopa · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wow, he's almost as brilliant as the dozen or more people that posted that exact same reference in http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/2 7/203205 THIS story.

    Note to /. editors: perhaps you should read your stories and their comments?

    --
    -Styopa
  12. Benard cells? by uab21 · · Score: 2, Insightful
    The Saturn thing Looks like a Benard cell... although they are normally seen in thin layers, not 100km deep regions - I guess 'thin' could be subjective - don't know how far across that feature is. A high thermal diffusivity or kinematic viscosity would compensate for that (look up Rayleigh number for why).

    Benard cells form in a horizontal layer of fluid with warmer fluid below cooler fluid. The instability can be seen in different shapes dependent on the wave number of the most excited mode. The hexagonal cell solution was found by Christopherson (1940) 'Note on the Vibration of Membranes' - Quarterly J of Mathematics 11, 63-5, but many others exist.

    1. Re:Benard cells? by treeves · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I mentioned that the first time this story came up on /. but thinking about it more later, Benard cells form in non-rotating fluids. Wouldn't the rotation interfere with the Benard cell formation process?

      --
      ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
    2. Re:Benard cells? by Goaway · · Score: 3, Informative

      Bernard cells are Bernard cells. They don't appear on their own, and their shape is caused by the fact that there are many of them.

  13. The Real Reason by Fujisawa+Sensei · · Score: 3, Funny

    The real reason for the hexagon: http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20070408

    --
    If someone is passing you on the right, you are an asshole for driving in the wrong lane.
  14. What's so mysterious about it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Of course Saturn has a hexagon. Saturn being the sixth planet from the sun, and a hexagon having six sides, it's only natural.

    1. Re:What's so mysterious about it? by exp(pi*sqrt(163)) · · Score: 4, Funny

      And Earth has the Bermuda triangle. Hey! You're really onto something.

      --
      Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.