APOD: In the Center of Saturns North Polar... (2012 Dec 04)

[StarCuriousAero]

Stunning image! Can't wait to see the official release... enjoyed that make-shift video quite a lot as well.

[ETX_90]

Anybody else see this guy?

[neufer]

<<Infinity is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears when the villain Maelstrom, acting on behalf of Oblivion attempts to end the universe. Infinity contacts the astral form of the hero Quasar, and empowers him to act as its avatar. After a series of battles, Quasar defeats Maelstrom, thereby allowing Infinity to prevail.>>

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

<<A maelstrom is a very powerful whirlpool; a large, swirling body of water. A free vortex, it has considerable downdraft. The power of tidal whirlpools tends to be exaggerated by laymen. One of the earliest uses of the Scandinavian word (malström or malstrøm) was by Edgar Allan Poe in his story "A Descent into the Maelström" (1841). In turn, the Nordic word is derived from the Dutch maelstrom, modern spelling maalstroom, from malen (to grind) and stroom (stream), to form the meaning grinding current or literally "mill-stream", in the sense of milling (grinding) grain.

The original Maelstrom (described by Poe and others) is the Moskstraumen (current of [island] Mosken), a powerful tidal current in the Lofoten Islands off the Norwegian coast. The Maelstrom is formed by the conjunction of the strong currents that cross the straits (Moskenstraumen) between the islands and the great amplitude of the tides. The fictional depictions of the Maelstrom by Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne describe it as a gigantic circular vortex that reaches the bottom of the ocean, when in fact it is a set of currents and crosscurrents with a rate of 18 km/h.

The maelstrom of Saltstraumen is the world's strongest maelstrom and is located 30 km east of the city of Bodø, Norway. Its impressive strength is because it is caused by the world's strongest tide occurring in the same location. A narrow channel connects the outer Saltfjord with its extension, the large Skjerstadfjord, causing a colossal tide which in turn produces the Saltstraumen maelstrom.

The Corryvreckan is the third largest whirlpool in the world, and is on the northern side of the Gulf of Corryvreckan, between the islands of Jura and Scarba off the coast of mainland Scotland. Flood tides and inflow from the Firth of Lorne to the west can drive the waters of Corryvreckan to waves of over nine metres (30 feet), and the roar of the resulting maelstrom can be heard sixteen kilometres (10 miles) away. A documentary team from Scottish independent producers Northlight Productions once threw a mannequin into the Corryvreckan ("the Hag") with a life jacket and depth gauge. The mannequin was swallowed and spat up far down current with a depth gauge reading of 262 metres with evidence of being dragged along the bottom for a great distance.>>

[geckzilla]

The word "precessed" has now been taken care of by RJN.

[neufer]

"Fascinating."

Why does this phenomenon not occur on our own planet? Would we have to live on a gas giant.

We do have polar vortices on Earth:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_vortex

Polar vortices often with nearly hexagonal structure
(If only those darn continents didn't get in the way )