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This image was acquired by Cassini's VIMS instrument on 29 October 2006, from an average distance of 902 000 kilometres above the cloud tops of Saturn, and shows a 'hexagon-like' atmospheric vortex. This bizarre six-sided feature encircle the north pole of Saturn near 78 degrees north latitude. This image is one of the first clear images ever taken of the north polar region as seen from a unique polar perspective. Originally discovered and last observed by a spacecraft during NASA's Voyager flybys of the early 1980's, the new views of this polar hexagon taken in late 2006 prove that this is an unusually long-lived feature on Saturn. This image is the first to capture the entire feature and north polar region in one shot, and is also the first polar view using Saturn's thermal glow at 5 microns (seven times the wavelength visible to the human eye) as the light source. This allows the pole to be revealed during the night-time conditions presently underway during north polar winter. Previ...