On June 20, 2019, the ringed planet was photographed as it approached Earth at a distance of 1.36 billion kilometers (845 million miles). Wide Field Camera 3 on Hubble took the clear picture (WFC3.)
This is a beautiful picture that belongs on a gallery wall. (So long as a space nerd cuted that gallery.) But it's also scientific; it's not only visually appealing.
The picture is a component of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy initiative (OPAL.) In order to better comprehend the atmospheres of the gas giant planets in our Solar System throughout time, OPAL aims to amass long-baseline pictures of these bodies. As part of the OPAL program, this is Saturn's second annual image.
Saturn always seemed so serene. regal, even. But a closer look shows there's a lot going on. Jupiter comes to mind when we think of storms and gas giants because of its well-known horizontal storm bands and, of course, the Great Red Spot. But Saturn is also a highly turbulent, energetic planet.
We are aware of the disappearance of a big hexagonal storm in the planet's north pole thanks to the OPAL program. Smaller storms also commonly arrive and go. The planet's storm bands, which are mostly ammonia ice at the top, have also undergone slight alterations.