Hexagon on Saturn’s North Pole mysteriously changed color: NASA

American space agency NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has noticed that the giant hexagon surrounding Saturn’s North Pole has changed color.

Created by a semi-permanent hurricane located at the north pole of the planet, the massive six-sided cloud pattern has been known to scientists since the Voyager missions in the early 1980s.

The Cassini probe, which has been orbiting Saturn since the year of 2004, has extensively studied the hexagon. A recent footage sent back to earth by the probe showed that the hexagon has changed its color from blue to gold.

After analysis fresh data, project scientists concluded that the change in color might be caused by increased sunlight hitting the planet’s North Pole as increased sunlight creates more photochemical hazes resulting into golden color.

Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker said, “This is a brand-new mission. We’re flying in a place that no spacecraft has ever flown before. When you fly someplace new, you're really bound to make new discoveries.”

The Saturn probe is now in its final year of observing the system, with its mission scheduled to culminate with a plunge and eventually burn up inside the ringed planet’s vast atmosphere. Along the way, the spacecraft will dart between the rings and collect valuable data that will likely reveal the age of the rings as well as the composition of the planet.