The disappearance of the gas giant's clouds is tied to the sun's 11-year cycle.
The disappearance of the wispy, white strands of frozen methane that usually streak Neptune's azure face has been linked to changes in ultraviolet radiation as the sun's activity climbs to an 11-year maximum.
The clouds around the solar system's eighth and most distant planet — located roughly 2.8 billion miles from the sun — began fading in 2019 and were gone without a trace by 2020. The researchers who made the discovery will publish their findings in the Nov. 1 edition of the journal Icarus.
The sun's activity rises and falls in 11-year cycles, but recently, the sun has been far more active than expected, with sunspot appearances nearly double the number predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center. Scientists anticipate that the sun's activity, initially thought to reach its maximum in 2025, could peak as soon as the end of this year.
What, exactly, is causing the change isn't known for certain. The most likely explanation is that UV light from the sun starts chemical reactions in Neptune's upper atmosphere, ultimately creating the clouds. "It's fascinating to be able to use telescopes on Earth to study the climate of a world more than 2.5 billion miles away from us," study co-author Carlos Alvarez, a staff astronomer at the Keck Observatory, said in the statement."Advances in technology and observations have enabled us to constrain Neptune's atmospheric models, which are key to understanding the correlation between the ice giant's climate and the solar cycle.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Neptune’s Clouds Perform a Surprise Disappearing ActNeptune's clouds have nearly disappeared for the first time in three decades. Observations indicate a potential link between the planet's cloud patterns and the solar cycle, despite Neptune's vast distance from the Sun. Ongoing research aims to unravel this mystery. For the first time in nearly t
Read more »
Neptune's Clouds Have Strangely Disappeared, Scientists ReportSomething very strange has happened to Neptune.
Read more »
Neptune’s disappearing clouds linked to solar cycleFour years ago, astronomers noticed the abundant clouds on Neptune had largely disappeared. Telescope data may have helped researchers figure out why.
Read more »
Microsoft to sell off Activision cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft in bid for UK approvalA big change to Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Read more »
Council Post: The Benefits Of Overcoming Your Cloud Migration FearsMany organizations are initially hesitant to take the leap and move all of their data to the cloud.
Read more »
TikTok Swears That These Perfumes Are Exact Dupes of Cloud by Ariana GrandeYou can score up to the 70% off the OG’s price.
Read more »