• POLITICS
  • SCIENCE
    • Astronomy
    • Physics
    • Biology
    • Geology
    • Environment
    • Medicine and Health
    • Sociology
    • Psychology
  • MOVIES & TV SHOWS
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Virtual Reality
    • Bionics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Engineering
    • Robotics
    • Space Exploration
    • Transport
    • Industry and Service
  • GADGETS
    • Mobile Devices
    • Wearables
    • Consoles
    • Hi-Tech
  • GEEK CULTURE
    • Gaming
    • Comics
    • Thingamajigs
  • MUSIC
  • SOFTWARE
    • APPS
      • Android
      • iOS
      • Windows
  • HARDWARE
  • CARS
  • REVIEWS
  • Advertise
  • Geek Reply Jobs
  • Contact Us
Geek Reply
  • HOME
  • Editorials
  • Geek Squad
  • GeekReply Jobs
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Google+

  • LinkedIn

  • RSS

Astronomy

Hubble catches Auroras on Uranus

Hubble catches Auroras on Uranus
Saul Bowden
Saul Bowden
April 11, 2017

Despite being well into its twenties the Hubble Space Telescope is still taking some pretty impressive photos. This time the Hubble Telescope reminded us all that Uranus is a lot more than a featureless ball of frozen turquoise gas. Composite photos from the Voyager 2 mission and photos taken by the Hubble telescope demonstrate that an Aurora dances across Uranus’ upper atmosphere.

Aurora’s are caused by streams of charged particles, like electrons, that come come from a variety of origins; such as solar winds, the planetary ionosphere, and moon volcanism. These particles become snared in powerful magnetic fields where they are then channeled into the upper atmosphere. Here they interact with gas particles like Oxygen or Nitrogen to produce stunning light shows, much like the Aurora Borealis here on earth.Aurora Borialis

Photo of the Aurora Borialis – The telegraph

 

The Aurora’s on Jupiter and Saturn are well studied but auroras on Uranus have proven to be a little more enigmatic. In 2011, the Hubble Space Telescope became the first Earth based telescope to catch a glimpse of the Aurora’s playing across Neptune’s surface. In 2011 and 2014 astronomers decided to take a closer look using the ultra-violet capabilities of the Space Telescope imaging Spectro-graph (STIS) installed on the Hubble.

Ever since Voyager 2 beamed home spectacular images of the planets in the 1980s, planet-lovers have been hooked on extra-terrestrial aurorae. Aurorae are caused by streams of charged particles like electrons, that come from various origins such as solar winds, the planetary ionosphere, and moon volcanism. They become caught in powerful magnetic fields and are channelled into the upper atmosphere, where their interactions with gas particles, such as oxygen or nitrogen, set off spectacular bursts of light. The alien aurorae on Jupiter and Saturn are well-studied, but not much is known about the aurorae of the giant ice planet Uranus. In 2011, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope became the first Earth-based telescope to snap an image of the aurorae on Uranus. In 2012 and 2014 astronomers took a second look at the aurorae using the ultraviolet capabilities of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) installed on Hubble. They tracked the interplanetary shocks caused by two powerful bursts of solar wind travelling from the Sun to Uranus, then used Hubble to capture their effect on Uranus’ aurorae — and found themselves observing the most intense aurorae ever seen on the planet. By watching the aurorae over time, they collected the first direct evidence that these powerful shimmering regions rotate with the planet. They also re-discovered Uranus’ long-lost magnetic poles, which were lost shortly after their discovery by Voyager 2 in 1986 due to uncertainties in measurements and the featureless planet surface. This is a composite image of Uranus by Voyager 2 and two different observations made by Hubble — one for the ring and one for the aurorae.

Ever since Voyager 2 beamed home spectacular images of the planets in the 1980s, planet-lovers have been hooked on extra-terrestrial aurorae. Aurorae are caused by streams of charged particles like electrons, that come from various origins such as solar winds, the planetary ionosphere, and moon volcanism. They become caught in powerful magnetic fields and are channelled into the upper atmosphere, where their interactions with gas particles, such as oxygen or nitrogen, set off spectacular bursts of light. The alien aurorae on Jupiter and Saturn are well-studied, but not much is known about the aurorae of the giant ice planet Uranus. In 2011, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope became the first Earth-based telescope to snap an image of the aurorae on Uranus. In 2012 and 2014 astronomers took a second look at the aurorae using the ultraviolet capabilities of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) installed on Hubble. They tracked the interplanetary shocks caused by two powerful bursts of solar wind travelling from the Sun to Uranus, then used Hubble to capture their effect on Uranus’ aurorae — and found themselves observing the most intense aurorae ever seen on the planet. By watching the aurorae over time, they collected the first direct evidence that these powerful shimmering regions rotate with the planet. They also re-discovered Uranus’ long-lost magnetic poles, which were lost shortly after their discovery by Voyager 2 in 1986 due to uncertainties in measurements and the featureless planet surface. This is a composite image of Uranus by Voyager 2 and two different observations made by Hubble — one for the ring and one for the aurorae.

Composite photograph of Uranus, demonstrating the rings and aurora on the surface – NASA

They used the STIS to track two bursts of solar wind from the sun to Uranus, they then tracked the effects of those winds have upon the Auroras on Uranus. The results were stunning. The solar winds prompted the most intense Aurora’s ever seen on the planet. The impressive light show allowed scientists to gather direct evidence that these Aurora’s rotate with the planet. Scientists even managed to rediscover the location of Uranus’ long-lost magnetic poles, which had been lost almost immediately have their discovery by Voyager 2 in 1986.

The photographs also give us a pretty good shot of the rings that encircle Neptune’s equator, just like those of Saturn. Astronomers theorize that the planet was knocked off balance during a collision with an Earth sized planet at some point in its history, resulting in the rings appearing to circle the poles.

If nothing else, the images serve to demonstrate the eerie beauty of the third largest planet in our solar system.

W3Schools
Related ItemsAurorafeaturedhubble space telescopesolar systemUranus
Astronomy
April 11, 2017
Saul Bowden
Saul Bowden @https://twitter.com/SaulBowden

You'll find me wandering around the Science sections mostly, excitedly waving my arms around while jumping up and down about the latest science and tech news. I am also occasionally found in the gaming section, trying to convince everyone else that linux is the future of the computer gaming.

Related ItemsAurorafeaturedhubble space telescopesolar systemUranus

More in Astronomy

Network

Various Companies Partner Up to Put a Mobile Phone Network on the Moon

Ule LopezMarch 1, 2018
Read More
Astronauts

Spacesuit’s “Take Me Home” Button can help Lost Astronauts

Ule LopezDecember 8, 2017
Read More

Scientists Discover a Monster Planet That Challenges Planet Formation Theories

Aaron GreenbaumNovember 1, 2017
Read More
exascale SKA CERN agreement

SKA Organization and CERN Formalize Agreement to Advance Extreme Scale Computing

Brian TrailJuly 14, 2017
Read More
Juno Great Red Spot Jupiter

Juno Collects New Data about Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

Brian TrailJuly 10, 2017
Read More
Picture of the crab nebula

Astronomers come together to take a picture of the Crab nebula and it is absolutely gorgeous

Saul BowdenMay 10, 2017
Read More

Travel Through A Wormhole – A Possibility?

Varun RainMay 5, 2017
Read More
The Moon

A Possible New Theory for the Formation of Earth’s Moon

Zachary KearneyApril 18, 2017
Read More
Ocean worlds could harbor life according to NASA

Ocean Worlds could harbor life in our own solar system, according to NASA

Saul BowdenApril 13, 2017
Read More
Geek Reply

Greetings techies! We are Geek Reply, a website whose main goal is to bring you all the latest news and updates from within the industry and beyond. What can you expect to find here?

Professional journalism coupled with expository writing for the most part, but we also give our honest opinion or throw in a pinch of humor for good measure when we deem it necessary. Our team is comprised of enthusiasts from across a wide variety of fields ranging from smartphone junkies to camera nerds, and everything in between. But perhaps you were looking for your daily dose of science news or hoping to read about the latest apps. If that’s the case, don’t worry, you came to the right place.

GeekReply Secured with GeekReply Scured
Nintendo Switch GeekReply

Copyright © 2020 GeekReply - Webdesign & Marketing - iPublicitate

A museum in a Metro? Rome puts stunning archaeological finds on display
Ooho: The Biodegradable Water Bottle of the Future with the Weird Name