This massive storm is over 20,000-mile-wide. Wide enough to fit roughly 4 Earths inside it. It’s been observed continuously since Voyager spotted it in 1981, so at least 45 years, though it’s likely much older.
This viral image circulating online is not an authentic or new photograph released by NASA. While Saturn does feature a famous, real six-sided hexagonal jet stream at its north pole discovered by Voyager and imaged closely by Cassini, this specific picture depicts exaggerated geometric sides and artificial center details that do not exist in reality.
The Real Hexagon: Saturn’s actual north polar wave is a persistent six-sided atmospheric jet stream roughly 30,000 kilometers (20,000 miles) across.
Real spacecraft imagery from NASA’s Cassini mission shows a distinct six-sided pattern with a swirling vortex eye, rather than the stylized, star-filled black hole center and octagonal/distorted geometry seen in this rendering
