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Neptune’s Disappearing Clouds Linked to the Solar Cycle
Astronomers have uncovered a link between Neptune's shifting cloud abundance and the 11-year solar cycle, in which the waxing and waning of the Sun's entangled magnetic fields drives solar activity.
All Eyes on the Ice Giants
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft plans to observe Uranus and Neptune from its location far out in the outer solar system this fall, and the mission team is inviting the global amateur astronomy community to come along for the ride –…
New Webb Image Captures Clearest View of Neptune’s Rings in Decades
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows off its capabilities closer to home with its first image of Neptune. Not only has Webb captured the clearest view of this distant planet’s rings in more than 30 years, but its cameras reveal…
Gravity Assist: It’s Raining Diamonds on These Planets
Follow via Apple Podcasts Follow via SoundCloud Follow via RSS Feed Left: Arriving at Uranus in 1986, Voyager 2 observed a bluish orb with subtle features. A haze layer hid most of the planet’s cloud features from view. Right: This image of…
Why Uranus and Neptune Are Different Colors
Neptune and Uranus have much in common yet their appearances are notably different. Astronomers now have an explanation for why the two planets are different colors.
New Study Finds Unexpected Temperature Changes on Neptune
The average global temperature on Neptune unexpectedly fluctuated during a recent 17-year period, according to a new study.
Hubble’s Grand Tour of the Outer Solar System
From its vantage point high above Earth’s atmosphere, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has completed this year’s grand tour of the outer solar system – returning crisp images that complement current and past observations from interplanetary spacecraft. This is the realm…
Dark Storm on Neptune Reverses Direction, Possibly Shedding a Fragment
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope watched a mysterious dark vortex on Neptune abruptly steer away from a likely death on the giant blue planet. The storm, which is wider than the Atlantic Ocean, was born in the planet’s northern…
Proposed NASA Mission Would Visit Neptune’s Curious Moon Triton
When NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by Neptune’s strange moon Triton three decades ago, it wrote a planetary science cliffhanger. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft ever to have flown past Neptune, and it left a lot of unanswered questions.…
Examining Ice Giants With NASA’s Webb Telescope
Far-flung Uranus and Neptune — the ice giants of our solar system — are as mysterious as they are distant. Soon after its launch in 2021, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will change that by unlocking secrets of the atmospheres…