New observations and studies of Saturn's long-lived north polar SPOT
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AV is currently the second longest-lived vortex observed in Saturn, after the North Polar Spot discovered in Voyager 1 flyby in 1980 and observed until 1995.
“AV is currently the second longest-lived vortex observed in Saturn, after the North Polar Spot discovered in the Voyager 1 flyby in 1980 and observed until 1995 (SanchezLavega et al., 1997).”
From Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon (2020) · cites this paper as Sanchez-Lavega et al., 1997
In Voyager and early HST images, the north polar spot (NPS) drifted in longitude at a similar rate as the hexagon.
“In Voyager and early HST images, a large anticyclone outside the hexagon, the so-called north polar spot (NPS), drifted in longitude at a similar rate as the hexagon”
From Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon (2020) · cites this paper as Sanchez-Lavega et al., 1997
The NPS drift rates were -0.061 ° day^-1 in 1980-1981 and -0.030 ° day^-1 in 1990-1995.
“These were -0 . 061 ◦ day -1 in 19801981 and -0 . 030 ◦ day -1 in 1990-1995 (Caldwell et al., 1993; Sanchez-Lavega et al., 1997)”
From Saturn atmospheric dynamics one year after Cassini: Long-lived features and time variations in the drift of the Hexagon (2020) · cites this paper as Sanchez-Lavega et al., 1997
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Saturn's Zonal Winds at Cloud Level
Sánchez-Lavega, A. (2000) · Icarus · doi:10.1006/icar.2000.6449 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Temperature and Composition of Saturn's Polar Hot Spots and Hexagon
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Saturn's north polar cyclone and hexagon at depth revealed by Cassini/VIMS
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Saturn Atmospheric Structure and Dynamics
C, A. D. D. G., Achterberg, R. K., Baines, K. H., Flasar, F. M., Read, P. L., Sánchez-Lavega, A., & Showman, A. P. (2009) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-9217-6_6 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Sánchez‐Lavega, A., del Río‐Gaztelurrutia, T., Hueso, R., Pérez‐Hoyos, S., García‐Melendo, E., Antuñano, A., Mendikoa, I., Rojas, J. F., Lillo, J., Barrado‐Navascués, D., et al. (2014) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1002/2013gl059078 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
“Because of this relationship, the NPS was assumed to move with the hexagon and its motion was put forward as a possible imprint of Saturn’s rotation ( Godfrey , 1990; Sánchez Lavega et al., 1997).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationA strong vortex in Saturn's South Pole
SANCHEZLAVEGA, A., HUESO, R., PEREZHOYOS, S., & ROJAS, J. (2006) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.05.020 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Self-citationDynamics of Saturn's polar regions
Antuñano, A., del Río‐Gaztelurrutia, T., Sánchez‐Lavega, A., & Hueso, R. (2015) · Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets · doi:10.1002/2014je004709 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
“A big elliptical anticyclone known as north polar spot (NPS), of an east-west size of ~7000–10,000 km, was observed just outside the hexagonal feature at the time of the Voyager images in 1980 and 1981 and was still present in ground-based observations in 1995 [Sánchez-Lavega et al., 1997].”
BackgroundNeptune’s rotational period suggested by the extraordinary stability of two features
Karkoschka, E. (2011) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.05.013 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Sayanagi, K. M., Baines, K. H., Dyudina, U. A., Fletcher, L. N., Sánchez-Lavega, A., & West, R. A. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316227220.012 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Cloud morphology and dynamics in Saturn's northern polar region
Antuñano, A., del Río-Gaztelurrutia, T., Sánchez-Lavega, A., & Rodríguez‐Aseguinolaza, J. (2017) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2017.07.017 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Cassini ISS observation of Saturn’s north polar vortex and comparison to the south polar vortex
Sayanagi, K. M., Blalock, J. J., Dyudina, U. A., Ewald, S. P., & Ingersoll, A. P. (2017) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.12.011 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Haze and cloud structure of Saturn's North Pole and Hexagon Wave from Cassini/ISS imaging
Sanz-Requena, J. F., Pérez-Hoyos, S., Sánchez-Lavega, A., Antuñano, A., & Irwin, P. G. J. (2018) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2017.12.043 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationNo Hexagonal Wave around Saturn's Southern Pole
Sánchez-Lavega, A. (2002) · Icarus · doi:10.1006/icar.2002.6947 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Hueso, R., Sánchez-Lavega, A., Rojas, J. F., Simon, A. A., Barry, T., Río-Gaztelurrutia, T. D., Antuñano, A., Sayanagi, K. M., Delcroix, M., Fletcher, L. N., et al. (2020) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113429 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“cause the hexagon (Allison et al., 1990; Godfrey, 1990; Sanchez-Lavega et al., 1997).”
Self-citationNumerical models of Saturn's long-lived anticyclones
García-Melendo, E., Sánchez-Lavega, A., & Hueso, R. (2007) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.05.020 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“Among them, there was a conspicuous group of oval vortices that resembled in their aspect and longevity those found in Jupiter (Sromovsky et al., 1983; Ingersoll et al., 1984; Sánchez-Lavega et al., 1997, 2000).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialDiscrete cloud activity in Saturn’s equator during 1995, 1996 and 1997
Sánchez-Lavega, A., Lecacheux, J., Colas, F., Rojas, J. F., & Gómez, J. M. (1999) · Planetary and Space Science · doi:10.1016/s0032-0633(99)00050-1 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citationA long-lived cyclone in Saturn’s atmosphere: Observations and models
del Río-Gaztelurrutia, T., Legarreta, J., Hueso, R., Pérez-Hoyos, S., & Sánchez-Lavega, A. (2010) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2010.04.002 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
A system of circumpolar waves in Jupiter's stratosphere
Sánchez-Lavega, A., Hueso, R., & Acarreta, J. R. (1998) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/1998gl900059 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Self-citationCowley, S. W. H., & Provan, G. (2013) · Journal of Geophysical Research Space Physics · doi:10.1002/2013ja019200 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“…of the NPS between early July 1990 and early November 1995 indicated a slightly shorter period during this interval of 10.65583 ± 0.00003 h, though still lying well within the errors of the Voyager north PPO period, and hence very close to the System III period [Sánchez-Lavega et al., 1997].”
ResultInfluentialA planetary-scale disturbance in a long living three vortex coupled system in Saturn's atmosphere
del Río-Gaztelurrutia, T., Sánchez-Lavega, A., Antuñano, A., Legarreta, J., García-Melendo, E., Sayanagi, K. M., Hueso, R., Wong, M. H., Pérez-Hoyos, S., Rojas, J. F., et al. (2018) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2017.11.029 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Self-citationVortices in Saturn's northern hemisphere (2008–2015) observed by Cassini ISS
Trammell, H. J., Li, L., Jiang, X., Pan, Y., Smith, M. A., Bering, E. A., Hörst, S. M., Vasavada, A. R., Ingersoll, A. P., Janssen, M. A., et al. (2016) · Journal of Geophysical Research Planets · doi:10.1002/2016je005122 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“…1980–1995 reported by the Voyager spacecraft [Smith et al., 1982], the Hubble Space Telescope [Caldwell et al., 1993], and the Pic-duMidi Observatory [Sanchez-Lavega et al., 1993, 1997] for the long-lived polar vortex had a much larger size (7000–11,000 km) and a much longer lifetime (>15 years).”
BackgroundStellar Occultation Observations of Saturn's North-Polar Temperature Structure
Cooray, A. R., Elliot, J. L., Bosh, A. S., Young, L. A., & Shure, M. A. (1998) · Icarus · doi:10.1006/icar.1998.5901 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“1993) and the north-polar spot (Sanchez-Lavega et al. 1997)—makes it but having a more typical shadow-plane velocity.”
Cassini UVIS Detection of Saturn's North Polar Hexagon in the Grand Finale Orbits
Pryor, W. R., Esposito, L. W., Jouchoux, A. J., West, R. A., Grodent, D. C., Gérard, J., Radioti, A., Lamy, L., & Koskinen, T. (2019) · Journal of Geophysical Research Planets · doi:10.1029/2019je005922 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“The NPR appears uniformly dark in ground‐based images (e.g., Sánchez‐Lavega et al., 1997).”
BackgroundThe Mysterious Periodicities of Saturn
Carbary, J. F., Hedman, M. M., Hill, T. W., Jia, X., Kurth, W. S., Lamy, L., & Provan, G. (2018) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316227220.005 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Energy Exchanges in Saturn's Polar Regions From Cassini Observations: Eddy‐Zonal Flow Interactions
Read, P. L., Antuñano, A., Colyer, G., Cabanes, S., del Río-Gaztelurrutia, T., & Sánchez-Lavega, A. (2022) · Journal of Geophysical Research Planets · doi:10.1029/2021je006973 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Nonlinear Atmospheric Flow Patterns Confined to Zonal Cloud Bands: Saturn’s Hexagon
Constantin, A., & Johnson, R. S. (2025) · Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences · doi:10.1175/jas-d-24-0260.1 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The evolution of the Kuiper belt during the formation of the outer planets
Melita, M. D., & Brunini, A. (1999) · International Astronomical Union Colloquium · doi:10.1017/s0252921100031213 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Global climate modelling of Saturn’s atmosphere, Part V: Large-scale vortices
Donnelly, P. T., Spiga, A., Guerlet, S., James, M. K., & Bardet, D. (2024) · Icarus · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116302 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
A decagon wave around Saturn’s south pole
Sánchez-Lavega, A., Simon, A. A., Wong, M. H., Fletcher, L. N., Antuñano, A., Hueso, R., Iñurrigarro, P., Flix-Bellmunt, A., Miró, A., Garcia‐Melendo, E., et al. (2026) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.aee4251 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Saturn’s hexagon: a nonlinear dynamical theory in the thin-shell approximation
Johnson, R. S. (2026) · Monatshefte für Mathematik · doi:10.1007/s00605-026-02181-7
“…variations in the solar heating, over the Saturnian year during which observations have been collected, and little has changed (see e.g. [3 –6]), we may reasonably suppose that the hexagon is maintained by, in the rotating frame, some essentially fixed and stable heat source within the…”
The Complete Life Cycle of Dark Spot NDS‐2018 on Neptune
Wong, M. H., Morales-Juberías, R., Sromovsky, L. A., Fry, P. M., Simon, A. A., Irwin, P. G. J., Sánchez-Lavega, A., Hueso, R., & de Pater, I. (2026) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2026gl122748
“Some anticyclones on Saturn have persisted for at least 14 years, including one spawned from the Great Storm in 2010 that is now very faint (Hueso et al., 2020; Sanchez‐Lavega et al., 1997; Sayanagi et al., 2013).”
- Authors
- Sanchez-Lavega, A., Rojas, J. F., Acarreta, J. R., Lecacheux, J., Colas, F., & Sada, P. V.
- Affiliations
- University of the Basque Country (ES)
- Observatoire de Paris (FR)
- Bureau des Longitudes (FR)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Venue
- Icarus
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1997-08
- Volume
- 128
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 322-334
- ISSN
- 0019-1035 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2088292834
- Semantic Scholar
- c472b8c7c1bfe08066ee975e1d43b7cbad0a178e
- Cited by
- 31
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 1.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Icarus (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
- Keywords
- Saturn, polar vortex, longitudinal drift, zonal velocity, cloud structure, cloud top pressure, radiative transfer modeling, methane absorption bands, anticyclonic vorticity, cellular convection, ground-based photometry, cloud vertical structure, haze layer, spiral patterns
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