Auroras Seen On Uranus For First Time

National Geographic ^ | April 13, 2012 | Andrew Fazekas

[Free ThinkerNY]

For the first time, astronomers have snapped photos of auroras lighting up Uranus's icy atmosphere.

Two fleeting, Earth-size auroral storms were imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope as they flared up on the dayside of the gas giant in November 2011. (See "Uranus Has a Bright New Spot, Picture Shows.")

"The last time we had any definite signals of auroral activity on Uranus was when NASA's Voyager 2 probe swung by in 1986," said study leader Laurent Lamy, an astronomer at the Observatoire de Paris in Meudon, France.

"But this is the first time we can actually see these emissions light up with an Earth-based telescope."

Uranus Auroras Seen in Stroke of Luck

Auroras are light displays often seen at the highest latitudes of Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn—all of which all have magnetospheres that act as shields against incoming solar storms.

[jwalsh07]

Areola’s on Uranus? Check the R levels.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks randita.

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks randita. An “extra, extra” ping to the APoD list members.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks randita. Years ago, someone on FR argued that u-RAY-nus really was pronounced YER-enes, which even a casual student of Greek can tell is completely dead wrong. YER-enes is the way Sagan chose to pronounce it, and while he probably didn't originate it (since he didn't originate anything with the possible exception of greenhouse warming as a political axe), he definitely chose wrong. And that should not come as any surprise.

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[left that other site]

I didn’t Moon Anyone. How did they see my Auroras?