Envision an immense thunderstorm of such magnitude that its ominous silhouette enveloped the entire circumference of our planet.

These awe-inspiring “megastorms” are a recurrent phenomenon on Saturn, recognized as “Great White Spots.”

Erupting at intervals of roughly 20 to 30 years in the northern hemisphere of the planet, they unleash their fury relentlessly over the span of months.

Dating back to 1876, astronomers have observed six of these planet-encompassing tempests swirling across Saturn, Live Science reported.

The most recent occurrence transpired in December 2010, during which NASA’s Cassini spacecraft found itself in orbit around Saturn, providing a close-up vantage point of the megastorm’s full 200-day life cycle.

Current investigations into the monumental 2010 storm have unveiled a remarkable revelation: those 200 days of thunder were merely a small portion of a far larger and more peculiar meteorological phenomenon.

Recent scrutiny using radio telescopes has uncovered enduring effects of megastorms that arose on Saturn over a century ago, still visibly impacting the planet’s atmosphere to this day.

Intriguingly, these past megastorms have left behind persistent chemical irregularities that defy full comprehension by scientists.

Written by staff