Giant Storms Observed On Uranus
- 10 years ago
Astronomers at the Keck Observatory recently spotted quite a bit of extreme weather activity occurring on Uranus.
Earth isn’t the only planet experiencing some big storms. Astronomers at Keck Observatory recently spotted quite a bit of extreme weather activity occurring on Uranus.
The sighting was made by scientists in Hawaii who, in the midst of local hurricane threats, were going ahead with business as usual.
In their regular check of the icy 7th planet from the sun they noticed several bright flashes.
A day later, another viewing showed many more had appeared.
Among them is the largest storm ever observed on Uranus.
The previous record holder, named Berg due to its resemblance to an iceberg, broke up in 2009.
The duration of that storm is unknown, but it’s believed it could have formed as early as 1986, the year NASA’s Voyager probe did its fly-by.
Astronomers say the newly discovered disturbance will likely have a similar life cycle.
Yet to be determined is exactly where in the planet’s atmosphere the storm is situated.
Researchers plan to analyze more data to pinpoint its location.
Scientists with fancy equipment aren’t the only ones who can take a peek at the planet this month.
Due to its current position, the planet can be observed in the night sky by regular people.
Earth isn’t the only planet experiencing some big storms. Astronomers at Keck Observatory recently spotted quite a bit of extreme weather activity occurring on Uranus.
The sighting was made by scientists in Hawaii who, in the midst of local hurricane threats, were going ahead with business as usual.
In their regular check of the icy 7th planet from the sun they noticed several bright flashes.
A day later, another viewing showed many more had appeared.
Among them is the largest storm ever observed on Uranus.
The previous record holder, named Berg due to its resemblance to an iceberg, broke up in 2009.
The duration of that storm is unknown, but it’s believed it could have formed as early as 1986, the year NASA’s Voyager probe did its fly-by.
Astronomers say the newly discovered disturbance will likely have a similar life cycle.
Yet to be determined is exactly where in the planet’s atmosphere the storm is situated.
Researchers plan to analyze more data to pinpoint its location.
Scientists with fancy equipment aren’t the only ones who can take a peek at the planet this month.
Due to its current position, the planet can be observed in the night sky by regular people.