NASA researchers got a rare opportunity to study the atmosphere and rings of Uranus this month, when the ice giant passed by the Earth and a distant star, formed “a stellar enjoyment”.
This rare incident lasted for about an hour on 7 April and was visible only from western North America. Last time a bright stellar enjoyment Uranus It took place in 1996, so NASA agreed. An international team of more than 30 astronomers led by planetary scientists in NASA, Langley Research Center In Virginia, 18 observatory used to collect data.
William Saunders, a planetary scientist at Langle, said, “This was the first time we have collaborated for a enjoyment on this scale.” In a statement,
“I am very grateful to each member of the team and each observatory to participate in this extraordinary event,” Saunders said. “By observing many big people TelescopeWe are capable of measuring the light curve and determining the atmospheric properties of Uranus on many height layers. ,
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For example, scientists measured the temperature and structure of the stratosphere of Uranus, the middle layer of its environment. They were able to see how the stratosphere has changed since 1996, when NASA found a snapshot of the Uranus atmosphere during the final significant stellar enjoyment.
Data NASA just collected “can help enable Uranus investigation effort of future“Agency officials said in the statement.
Uranus, currently about 2 billion miles (3.2 billion kilometers) EarthThere is no solid surface. Instead, the planet has a soft surface that is a mixture of water, ammonia and methane. Researchers call Uranus an ice giant because its interior consists of these fluids on a large scale, all of which have low cold points. The atmosphere of the planet is mostly made of hydrogen and helium.
“The atmosphere of giant planets of gas and ice (BupeterSaturn, Uranus and Neptune) There are extraordinary atmospheric laboratories because they do not have solid surfaces, “Emma Dahl, a postdotoral scholar of the California Institute of Technology, who assisted in collecting comments from the infrared binoculars of NASA in Hawaii, said in the same statement.
“It allows us to study cloud formation, storm and air patterns without extra variables and produce a surface, which can complicate simulation very quickly,” he said.
NASA says Uranus will add several dimer stars over the next six years. The next important Uranus indulgence, which will also include a star bright compared to a blocked one in this month, will come in 2031.
