Scientists Successfully Find Phenomenon In The North Pole Of Planet Uranus, What Is It?

NASA scientists have strong evidence of polar cyclones in Uranus. (photo: dock. NASA/JPL-Caltech/VLA)

JAKARTA - For the first time, NASA scientists have strong evidence of polar cyclones in Uranus. These findings confirm the truth about all planets with substantial atmospheres in the Solar System.

By examining radio waves emitted from ice giants, they detected a phenomenon at the planet's north pole.

Scientists have been questioning whether the planet consists mostly of rock or gas, and whether its atmosphere shows signs of a rotating vortex at the poles.

In fact, they have long known that Uranus' south pole has a rotating feature. Images of NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft mission from the top of the methane cloud there show the wind at the center of the pole rotates faster than the rest of the poles.

Voyager's infrared measurements did not observe any change in temperature, but new findings published in Geophysical Research Letters managed to prove it.

Using a large radio antenna dish from the Very Large Array in New Mexico, scientists peered under the giant cloud of ice, determining the air circulation at the north pole seems warmer and drier, this is the hallmark of a powerful cyclone.

Gathered in 2015, 2021, and 2022, these observations went deeper into Uranus' atmosphere than ever before.

This observation tells us more about the story of Uranus. This is a much more dynamic world than you might think. It's not just an ordinary blue gas ball. There's a lot going on under the tent," said lead author Alex Akins of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, quoted Thursday, May 25.

Uranus has been showing off more recently, thanks to the position of the planet in orbit. It's been a long journey around the Solar System for the exoplanet, it took 84 years to complete a full spin, and over the past few decades the poles have not pointed to Earth.

Around 2015, scientists had a better view and were able to see deeper into the polar atmosphere. Cyclone in Uranus, in a solid shape with warm and dry air in its core, is very similar to what NASA's Cassini mission in Saturn looks like.

With new findings, cyclones (which rotate in the same direction as their planet's rotation) or anti-cyclones (which are rotating in opposite directions) have now been identified at the poles in each planet in the Solar System except Mercury, which has no substantial atmosphere.

But unlike hurricanes on Earth, cyclones in Uranus and Saturn do not form on water (no planet is known to have water in liquid form), and do not float, they are locked at the poles.

Now, scientists will be watching closely how the newly discovered Uranus cyclone will develop in the years to come.

"Is the warm core we observed represent the same high-speed circulation as Voyager sees?" asked Akins.

"Or is there a cyclone piled up in Uranus' atmosphere? The fact that we are still looking into simple things about how Uranus' atmosphere works really makes me excited to find out more about this mysterious planet," he said.