Year: 2016-17
Grade: 5-6
City: Maracaibo
Teachers: Adan Rincon, Ramon Rincon, Eglee de Wilson, and Nelson Portillo
Target: Saturn's Hexagon
Team Members:
Jose Santiago,Garillo (team leader) Ntra. Sra. de Fatima, Maracaibo
Alejandro,Marmol Perozo (team leader) LOS ROBLES, Maracaibo
Francisco Gonela Los Robles, Maracaibo
Albanis,Garcia (team leader) JOSE ANTONIO ANZOATEGUI, Maracaibo
Jose Andres Gonzales Los Robles, Maracaibo
Diana,garcia (team leder) JOSE ANTONIO ANZOATEGUI, Maracaibo
Maria Alejandra Cano ALTAMIRA Maracaibo
"We chose objective 3 because In the north pole of planet Saturn,a polygonal structure in the shape of an hexagon can be observed, and it has puzzled us for months, this shape is as stated in JPL articles, formed by strong air currents that measure approximately 32,000 kilometers wide and has a jet stream air current that flows eastward (counter-clockwise) at a speed of 360 km/h.
Between 2012 and 2016, the hexagon has undergone a change in coloration, going from mostly blue to a pale hue of gold when observed with the naked eye. It was first discovered in 1988 by the Voyager mission. It is believed that this phenomenon is formed by the rotation of a superstorm around Saturn's North pole with great velocity winds, greater than the rest of Saturn's atmosphere, an interesting fact verified by scientists in laboratories, experimenting with similar chemical components, in liquid and gaseous state, and obtaining a great variety of geometric shapes and colours.
As stated by Kunio Sayanagi of the Cassini imaging team at the University of Hampton, Virginia:"Inside the hexagon there are fewer fog particles, and small particle concentration, while outside the hexagon is the opposite, the hexagonal jet stream is acting as a barrier, which translates into something like Earth's Antarctic ozone hole. Our team also made a similar experiment using a rotating fluid in a bowl that contained water, alcohol, amonia, oil, hair paint (dye) and hydrogen peroxide.
We applied infrared light to simulate sun light, and we obtained a hexagonal and also an octagonal shape. We took pictures and published them on our Facebook page: "Club de Astronomia Los Robles". We didn't obtain the colour changes such as those observed in saturn during the summer solstice of 2017, or between polar winter from November 1995 to August 2009.
