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Mysteries Swirl Around Cyclones At Saturn's Poles
Riding with Robots writes "New images of Saturn from the robotic spacecraft Cassini are shedding new light on monstrous storms that swirl at both poles of the ringed planet. 'These are truly massive cyclones, hundreds of times stronger than the most giant hurricanes on Earth,' said one mission scientist. Cumulus clouds twirl around the vortices, betraying the presence of giant thunderstorms lurking beneath. But the storms do not disturb the bizarre hexagonal cloud formation previously reported."
If it were cyclones around Uranus, would it be a moon then?
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You're so right. Instead of wasting money on space-based research all these years, we should have been investing in weather satellites, remote sensing capabilities, worldwide communication networks, faster computers, and...
Oh, wait...
Saddle up: Riding with Robots
you know, when we study these things that are hard, we gain a greater understanding of other things as well. space exploration has always trickled down information to humanity.
There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
Instead of worrying about Saturn's cyclones, how about worrying about earth's cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes and tsunamis?
Lets reserve the funding for this within our own earth please. On one hand, people talk about making the earth "green" and on the other hand, they blow up useful money into researching how the universe was built, whether Mars has life on it, how cyclones and tsunamis occur on Saturn. Does the scientific community not have its priorities right and consistent?
Instead of wasting time on Slashdot, how about selling your computer and donating that money (not to mention the time you'll save) to helping the world's hungry? There are people who go without food and you're squandering your time and money trolling the internet looking for things to complain about?
Do they come with unusual cloud formations?
The hexagonal clouds are not a mystery. They in fact prove that there are legislators somewhere else even dumber than the ones we choose for ourselves. Obviously the government of Saturn has declared the value of PI to be exactly 3 and the clouds are only obeying the law.
Sheesh.
Speaking as a physicist, physical insight is always increased when you look at a broader problem. Studying cyclones only on the Earth is like trying to understand gravity while limiting your observations to distances between the ground and the height of a tree. You can come up with a great linear gravitational potential function, but you will never understand the physical significance of gravity. Only when you look at the broader problem do you begin to understand how gravity actually works. From there you can make assumptions, develop the math, and use it as a stepping stone to jumpstart other ideas, like classical electrodynamics (which itself provided the stepping stone for the complete rewrite of gravitational theory).
The benefits of studying weather patterns and geology outside of the narrow range that we observe on the Earth could be enormous. By observing the bizarre, we might be able to gain some insight into the mundane. These cyclones are a perfect chance. We have a pretty good idea on how cyclones work on the Earth, but the cyclones on Saturn are a mystery. By unraveling how these cyclones work, it should be possible to make a much more robust theory on how all cyclones will work.
Suddenly, the hairy finger of a familiar monkey tapped me on the shoulder. It was time.--G. T.