Posted on 11/13/2004 9:43:06 PM PST by ambrose
Uranus: Whacky weather, odd rings
Observations with the Keck II Telescope show the solar system's seventh planet still holds a few surprises.
Francis Reddy
November 10, 2004
In the southern hemisphere of Uranus, as summer draws to a close, methane storm clouds brew beneath the planet's thick blue-green haze. New observations from two research teams using the Keck II 10-meter telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii reveal unprecedented cloud behavior, fast winds, and a unique ring system.
Uranus has a reputation of being, well, dull. "When the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by Uranus in 1986, it saw almost no discrete cloud activity," said Heidi Hammel of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. A thick, high-altitude haze masks cloud bands and storms, hiding weather systems from view, and some planetary scientists suggested the haze inhibited storm-forming convection deeper in the atmosphere. "Most astronomers decided that Uranus was a boring, static planet."
Together with team leader Imke de Pater of the University of California, Berkeley, and Seran Gibbard of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Hammel has been observing Uranus since 2000 with the second-generation Near Infrared Camera (NIRC2) on the Keck II Telescope.
A second team, led by Lawrence Sromovsky of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Space Science and Engineering Center, also imaged the planet with Keck II. The astronomers captured several Uranian weather oddities, including a big southern hemisphere storm feature that, during the course of several years, seesaws over 5° of latitude. "It's weird behavior that hasn't been recognized before on Uranus," said Sromovsky. Such oscillations occur on Neptune, and more rapidly. "It is not surprising to see cloud features drifting in latitude, but our models don't show these oscillations," he explained. "We don't know what makes it keep coming back to its starting point."
(Excerpt) Read more at astronomy.com ...
Ahh???...Thanks. :))
Uranus is big and gassy.
I'd give anything to see that Uranus/Mensa episode on Seinfeld again. It was a hoot.
Thanks for the ping. :-)
None of these infants have a clue about astronomy. They have never seen the night sky for themselves and never will--thanks to light pollution.
The HyperDictionary lists the pronunciation of "Uranus" as follows:
"yer'ahnahs; yuw'rahnahs"
Which, to me looks very much like Klingonese...food for thought.
That planet has been nothing but trouble. I've always said that no good will ever come from Uranus.
I'm sure you've heard this old joke:
The various organs and parts of the body were all engaged in serious debate over which one of them was the most important. The Brain naturally thought he was the most important because of the many activities he supervised. The Heart disagreed, citing that if he stopped working, the body would die. The Liver, Lungs, Spleen and all the rest chimed in with their various opinions, but a consensus was never reached.
Then, the Anus spoke up very softly the he indeed was the most important of all the parts of the body. The rest of the organs and parts of the body laughed so long at the Anus' impertinant suggestion, that the Anus closed down in utter embarrassment.
After a short period of time, the Eyes began to cross, the Brain couldn't function properly, the Stomach became severely bloated...in fact, every organ of the body was compromised. Another meeting was called and the Anus was quickly confirmed as the most important part of the body.
First it was "ring around the collar" and then "bathtub ring" with a clever, bell-like tone in the background, but a ring around Uranus is more than I can imagine without a stout stoke of stout.
Thanks for sharing.
Maybe they should send a probe into Uranus.
sorry
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