Saturn’s rings are among the most beautiful features in the solar system – and the most mysterious. Scientists continue to debate how and when the rings formed, and how much longer they might hang around.

But the rings aren’t Saturn’s only beautiful and mysterious feature. An almost perfect hexagon of clouds wraps around the planet’s north pole. And scientists continue to debate how it formed and what keeps it going.

Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system – nine-and-a-half times the diameter of Earth. So the hexagon is giant as well – more than twice as wide as Earth. And it’s long-lasting – it was first observed in 1981.

There are several ideas about what shapes the hexagon. Perhaps the leading idea says that winds deep in the atmosphere blow at different speeds at different latitudes. As these jet streams rub against other, they create waves that ripple to the top of the clouds. Those clouds form regular patterns – the sides of the hexagon.

There’s one other mystery about the hexagon: It appears only at the north pole, not the south. So scientists are still working to explain this beautiful feature at the top of a beautiful planet.

Saturn poses near the Moon the next couple of evenings. It looks like a bright golden star. It’s to the upper left of the Moon tonight, and a bit farther below the Moon tomorrow night.

Tomorrow: a system that defies description.

Script by Damond Benningfield