NASA Captures Rare Moments Of Uranus When Passing Between Earth And The Sun
JAKARTA NASA managed to capture a rare space moment. On April 7, 2025, when the planet Uranus passed between Earth and the Sun, NASA photographed and studied its movements.
The situation, referred to as the stellar occultation, the moment when a massive object covers the star from a view on Earth, occurs within an hour. According to a NASA report, this event also only happened in North America, to be precise in the West.
"This is the first time we have collaborated on this scale for occultation," said Planetary Scientist William Saunders, quoted from NASA's blog. "By observing the occultation of many large telescopes, we were able to measure the light curves and determine the nature of Uranus' atmosphere."
This event is rare, so it is important to observe. Star occultation caused by the planet Uranus last occurred in 1996. Therefore, NASA deployed dozens of astronomers just to observe this brief event.
The US space agency created a special international team consisting of 30 astronomers. The team is led by planetary scientists at theturbation Research Center, a NASA-owned facility in Virginia. They used 18 observatories to collect data.
As Uranus passes between Earth and the Sun, the planet breeds the star's light using its planetary atmosphere. This causes the star to dim before being completely blocked by the cold planet's body.
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During the process, scientists observed the alignment of its path to measure the temperature and composition of the Uranus stratosphere. By observing this, they can find out about Uranus' changes in the last 30 years.
The data collected will later be compared to the stellar occultation that occurred in 1996. After comparison, these data will be used to assist Uranus' exploration efforts in the future.
Although the occultation this time is very short, NASA will have the opportunity to observe Uranus again. Uranus will cover some of the fainter stars over the next six years and its close will take place in 2031.