Closer to the Storm

The Cassini spacecraft snapped this view of Saturn's north pole on December 3 from a range of just 240,000 miles (385,000 km), which is the distance from Earth to the Moon. The photo shows a continent-wide vortex at the pole (top left), with part of the hexagon of clouds that surrounds the pole curving from top center to lower left. Each side of the vortex is as wide as Earth. Cassini has changed its orbit to bring it closer to Saturn in preparation for the end of its mission in September 2017. It's now passing just outside the planet's rings on each orbit, at a distance of roughly 80,000 miles (130,000 km) from Saturn. The craft uses its radio antenna to shield it from possible impacts during each pass by the rings. [NASA/JPL/SSI]