PLANET Uranus holds many mysteries. Astronomers are working hard to solve the various mysteries behind Uranus. Most recently, they discovered that there is aurora gas around Uranus.
This aurora is not very similar to the one on earth which usually has a greenish color. Aurora on Uranus is aurora infrared (infrared wavelengths) or has a red color, as reported on the page Gizmodo.
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The aurora discovery was made using the Keck II Telescope’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSPEC) and was reported this week in Nature Astronomy. The actual observations were made in September 2006, but new analysis of the H3+ ions detected in the data revealed the presence of the aurora.
This light blue gas planet has many mysteries behind it. (Photo: Unsplash/NASA)
“This research is the culmination of 30 years of aurora research on Uranus, which finally revealed infrared aurora and started a new era of aurora investigation on this planet,” said Emma Thomas, an astronomer from the University of Leicester who is the author of this research.
“Our research results will expand our knowledge of ice giant auroras and strengthen our understanding of planetary magnetic fields in our solar system, on exoplanets, and even on our own planet,” he added.
Uranus is four times larger than Earth. The planet has nearly 30 moons scattered around it, which may have oceanic layers that are particularly suitable for astrobiology research.
However, an astronomical report released in 2022 stated that a probe to Uranus should be the “major mission with the highest priority” in the next decade.
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The newly visible aurora is one of several new developments seen on Uranus this year. In April, the USD 10 billion Webb Space Telescope photographed the planet’s dusty rings.
Auroras on Uranus are caused by the same types of interactions as on Earth; Charged particles interact with a planet’s atmosphere through its magnetic field, emitting luminous light at visible wavelengths.
Researchers believe that studying Uranus’ auroras could improve understanding of the planet’s atmosphere. (Photo: Unsplash/Simon Lee)
Researchers believe that studying Uranus’ auroras could improve understanding of the planet’s atmosphere and how its poles move.
“We don’t have much research on this phenomenon and therefore don’t know what impact it will have on systems that depend on the Earth’s magnetic field such as satellites, communications and navigation,” added Thomas.
This process, continued Thomas, occurs every day on Uranus due to the unique misalignment of the rotational and magnetic axes. Continued research into Uranus’ auroras will provide data about what we can expect when Earth experiences a pole reversal in the future and what impact this will have on its magnetic field. (aqb)
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2023-10-30 12:34:00
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