Baghdad / NinaScientists have discovered a cycle of warm air swirling beneath the clouds of Uranus, providing strong evidence that a cyclone is embedded at the planet’s north pole.
The new findings add to previous observations that Uranus’ atmosphere is not as dull as it first appeared when NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft passed by the “ice giant” in January 1986.
Uranus’ north spiral was discovered by detecting thermal emissions in the form of radio waves captured by astronomers using the Very Large Array of Radio Telescopes (VLA) in New Mexico.
New observations may indicate the presence of a polar cyclone at Uranus’ north pole, NASA scientists report.
The results revealed that beneath the planet’s clouds, the air circulating in the Arctic is much warmer and drier. According to NASA, this is the sign of a powerful hurricane.
Alex Akins, lead author of the study, said: “These observations tell us a lot about the story of Uranus. Uranus’ south pole.
In 1986, NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft, during a 1986 flyby of the ice cap, took pictures of the South Pole, showing that the wind at the polar center is spinning faster than at the other poles.
However, it is currently unclear whether or not Uranus also has cyclones at its north pole.
According to NASA, Uranus’ spiral is compact, with warm, dry air at its center — similar to Saturn’s storms.
Overall, the finding indicates that whether the planets are primarily rocky or gaseous, their atmospheres show signs of vorticity at the poles.
Here on Earth, hurricanes form over water and drift, while on Uranus and Saturn, hurricanes take place at the poles.
NASA now hopes to track the hurricane to see how it evolves over the years./ Conclusion 9
Subscribe to our channel on Telegram for more news
“Professional coffee fan. Total beer nerd. Hardcore reader. Alcohol fanatic. Evil twitter buff. Friendly tv scholar.”
