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A new 3D map of Uranus is shedding light on one of the solar system's most mysterious planets. Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, scientists observed the ice giant for nearly a full rotation, revealing the inner workings of its upper atmosphere for the first time. The team, led by Paola Tiranti from Northumbria University, mapped out the temperature and density of ions in the electrically–charged layer that sits 3,100 miles (5,000km) above the cloud tops.

This image of Uranus from NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope exquisitely captures Uranus’s seasonal north polar cap and dim inner and outer rings. This Webb image also shows 9 of the planet’s 27 moons – clockwise starting at 2 o’clock, they are: Rosalind, Puck, Belinda, Desdemona, Cressida, Bianca, Portia, Juliet, and Perdita. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI ================================================================= A rare celestial alignment in April 2025 gave NASA scientists the chance to study Uranus in exceptional detail as it passed in front of a distant star. This stellar occultation, visible only from parts of western North America,...

For most writers, their 100th anniversary looms like a final exam proctored by posterity. A writer who is still being read 100 years after he was born, which usually means at least 50 years after he wrote his major works, will probably keep being read into the future. But for W.H. Auden, who was born 100 years ago today, the century mark feels less like a trial than a celebration. (In fact, it is being celebrated with readings around the country, including one at the 92nd Street Y on March 5.) For when Auden died, in 1973, his immortality was...