An extensive system of layers has been observed emanating above Saturn's odd hexagon feature. The hexagon, an enormous cloud structure, is situated at the giant planet's north pole. And now the Planetary Science Group at the University of the Basque Country has discovered that the hexagon is composed of a multi-layered system of at least seven mists or hazes that extend from the top of the clouds to an altitude of more than 186 miles above them.

The team used high resolution images from the Cassini craft to make their discovery, and compared the haze layers to a kind of sandwich. Pepperoni, Swiss cheese, and salami? 'Fraid not, in Saturn's bone-crunchingly cold atmosphere, it's thought the layers may be frozen crystalline particles composed of such ingredients as butane, acetylene, or propane. More at Space.com.

Top image, Saturn's Hexagon: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/Hampton University