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A four-panel image. The top two panels are diagrams of Uranus – spheres with gridlines going longitudinally and latitudinally. On the top left, the view from Hubble, the southern pole of the planet faces 3 o’clock. On the top right, the view from New Horizons, the southern pole faces 10 o’clock. The bottom left panel is Hubble’s actual view of Uranus – the planet is a light blue sphere, with a white circle covering the right half of the planet (the southern pole). The bottom right panel is the actual view of Uranus from New Horizons. The planet appears as a tiny whiteish dot.

NASA’s Hubble, New Horizons Team Up for a Simultaneous Look at Uranus

6 min read

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and New Horizons spacecraft simultaneously set their sights on Uranus recently, allowing scientists to make a direct comparison of the planet from two very different viewpoints. The results inform future plans to study like types of…

Article1 month ago

Ed Stone, Former Director of JPL, Voyager Project Scientist, Dies

5 min read

Known for his steady leadership, consensus building, and enthusiasm for engaging the public in science, Stone left a deep impact on the space community. Edward C. Stone, former director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and longtime project…

Article5 months ago

NASA’s Webb Rings in Holidays With Ringed Planet Uranus

4 min read

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently trained its sights on unusual and enigmatic Uranus, an ice giant that spins on its side. Webb captured this dynamic world with rings, moons, storms, and other atmospheric features – including a seasonal polar…

Article11 months ago

All Eyes on the Ice Giants

3 min read

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 –…

Article1 year ago

NASA Scientists Make First Observation of a Polar Cyclone on Uranus

3 min read

Scientists used ground-based telescopes to get unprecedented views, thanks to the giant planet’s position in its long orbit around the Sun. For the first time, NASA scientists have strong evidence of a polar cyclone on Uranus. By examining radio waves…

Article1 year ago

New Study of Uranus’ Large Moons Shows 4 May Hold Water

5 min read

The work is based on new modeling and explores how oceans could exist in unlikely places in our solar system.

Article2 years ago

NASA’s Webb Scores Another Ringed World With New Image of Uranus

4 min read

Following in the footsteps of the Neptune image released in 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken a stunning image of the solar system’s other ice giant, the planet Uranus. The new image features dramatic rings as well as…

Article2 years ago
Lower half of Jupiter. Cloud bands of rusty-orange, dull yellow, white, and brown. Swirling ovals and turbulent waves of clouds bound by the bands. Yellow-orange moon, Io, just right of center. It casts its shadow toward the planet's left limb.

Hubble Monitors Changing Weather and Seasons at Jupiter and Uranus

5 min read

Ever since its launch in 1990, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has been an interplanetary weather observer, keeping an eye on the largely gaseous outer planets and their ever-changing atmospheres. NASA spacecraft missions to the outer planets have given us a…

Article2 years ago

Gravity Assist: It’s Raining Diamonds on These Planets

0 min read

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…

Article2 years ago
Diagram showing haze layers on Uranus and Neptune.

Why Uranus and Neptune Are Different Colors

8 min read

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.

Article2 years ago