NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has conducted a 20-year study on the ice giant planet Uranus, providing new insights into its atmospheric composition and dynamics. The research team used Hubble’s sharp resolution, spectral capabilities, and longevity to analyze the planet’s atmosphere.
Uranus is an icy world with a tilted axis, resulting in extreme seasons. Previous observations by Voyager 2 in 1986 showed a bland, blue-green appearance, but Hubble chronicled seasonal changes from 2002 to 2022. The team found that methane, which gives Uranus its cyan color, is not uniformly distributed across the planet.
Instead, methane is strongly depleted near the poles and remains relatively constant over two decades. However, the aerosol and haze structure changed dramatically in the northern polar region as the planet approached its northern summer solstice in 2030.
The data suggest complex atmospheric circulation patterns on Uranus during this period, with downwelling in the polar regions and upwelling in other areas. The team analyzed their results using Hubble’s STIS instrument, which provided a false-color image of the planet.
The image shows how the color of Uranus appears to the human eye as seen through an amateur telescope. It also reveals that green areas indicate less methane than blue areas, while red areas show no methane. The findings will help astronomers better understand the atmospheric dynamics of Uranus and provide valuable data for studying exoplanets of similar size and composition.
Future observations will continue to monitor Uranus as it approaches northern summer, offering new insights into its complex atmosphere.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-03-hubble-year-uranus-yields-atmospheric.html