* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Here’s how NJ’s once-vibrant nightclub scene was born and why it died – Bergen Record

    The Rise and Fall of New Jersey’s Once-Vibrant Nightclub Scene: What Happened?

    The Emmys are back: Viewership soars to highest numbers in 4 years – yahoo.com

    The Emmys Return with a Bang: Viewership Hits a 4-Year High

    From Spinal Tap II to Ed Sheeran : your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead – The Guardian

    Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Are Going on Tour—Here’s the List – yahoo.com

    Experience the Thrill: Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Hit the Road-Don’t Miss the Tour!

    Ryan Reynolds reveals he called a journalist who said mean things about John Candy – yahoo.com

    Ryan Reynolds Reveals the Moment He Stood Up to a Journalist Who Insulted John Candy

    Entertainment Community Fund Launches Program Supporting Entrepreneurs – Playbill

    Entertainment Community Fund Unveils Exciting New Program to Empower Entrepreneurs

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Will New Big Technology Engagements Reshape Innodata’s Growth Path? – Yahoo Finance

    Could New Major Tech Partnerships Propel Innodata to Unprecedented Growth?

    Unlocking AI Success: How People, Process, and Technology Form the Ultimate Triangle

    Billion-dollar coffins? New technology could make oceans transparent and Aukus submarines vulnerable – The Guardian

    Billion-Dollar Coffins? How New Technology Could Make Oceans Transparent and Expose Submarines

    What if artificial intelligence is just a “normal” technology? – The Economist

    What if artificial intelligence is just a “normal” technology? – The Economist

    Lincoln Trail College Receives $100,000 Grant from Marathon Petroleum Corporation for Technology Center – wwbl.com

    Lincoln Trail College Lands $100,000 Grant from Marathon Petroleum to Elevate Technology Center

    Aston Martin to integrate Pirelli’s cyber tyre technology in future models – Just Auto

    Aston Martin to Revolutionize Future Models with Pirelli’s Cutting-Edge Cyber Tyre Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Here’s how NJ’s once-vibrant nightclub scene was born and why it died – Bergen Record

    The Rise and Fall of New Jersey’s Once-Vibrant Nightclub Scene: What Happened?

    The Emmys are back: Viewership soars to highest numbers in 4 years – yahoo.com

    The Emmys Return with a Bang: Viewership Hits a 4-Year High

    From Spinal Tap II to Ed Sheeran : your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead – The Guardian

    Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Are Going on Tour—Here’s the List – yahoo.com

    Experience the Thrill: Fall’s Hottest Ski Films Hit the Road-Don’t Miss the Tour!

    Ryan Reynolds reveals he called a journalist who said mean things about John Candy – yahoo.com

    Ryan Reynolds Reveals the Moment He Stood Up to a Journalist Who Insulted John Candy

    Entertainment Community Fund Launches Program Supporting Entrepreneurs – Playbill

    Entertainment Community Fund Unveils Exciting New Program to Empower Entrepreneurs

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Will New Big Technology Engagements Reshape Innodata’s Growth Path? – Yahoo Finance

    Could New Major Tech Partnerships Propel Innodata to Unprecedented Growth?

    Unlocking AI Success: How People, Process, and Technology Form the Ultimate Triangle

    Billion-dollar coffins? New technology could make oceans transparent and Aukus submarines vulnerable – The Guardian

    Billion-Dollar Coffins? How New Technology Could Make Oceans Transparent and Expose Submarines

    What if artificial intelligence is just a “normal” technology? – The Economist

    What if artificial intelligence is just a “normal” technology? – The Economist

    Lincoln Trail College Receives $100,000 Grant from Marathon Petroleum Corporation for Technology Center – wwbl.com

    Lincoln Trail College Lands $100,000 Grant from Marathon Petroleum to Elevate Technology Center

    Aston Martin to integrate Pirelli’s cyber tyre technology in future models – Just Auto

    Aston Martin to Revolutionize Future Models with Pirelli’s Cutting-Edge Cyber Tyre Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Uranus and Neptune Are in Fact Similar Shade of Greenish Blue, New Color-Corrected Images Reveal

January 6, 2024
in Science
Uranus and Neptune Are in Fact Similar Shade of Greenish Blue, New Color-Corrected Images Reveal
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Uranus and Neptune, the so-called ice giants, are the most distant giant planets in our Solar System. Our knowledge of these worlds was revolutionized by the flybys of NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft on January 24, 1986 and August 25, 1989, respectively. Since these Voyager encounters, our perception of the visible appearance of these worlds comes primarily from images reconstructed from observations from Voyager 2’s Imaging Science System (ISS), which recorded images in several separate filters, running from ultraviolet to orange. In those images, Uranus appears pale green, while Neptune appears darker blue, and this perception of the relative colors of these planets has become commonly accepted. But a new study has revealed that the two ice giants are actually far closer in color.

Voyager 2/ISS images of Uranus and Neptune released shortly after the Voyager 2 flybys in 1986 and 1989, respectively, compared with a reprocessing of the individual filter images in this study to determine the best estimate of the true colors of these planets. Image credit: Irwin et al., doi: 10.1093/mnras/stad3761.

Voyager 2/ISS images of Uranus and Neptune released shortly after the Voyager 2 flybys in 1986 and 1989, respectively, compared with a reprocessing of the individual filter images in this study to determine the best estimate of the true colors of these planets. Image credit: Irwin et al., doi: 10.1093/mnras/stad3761.

“Although the familiar Voyager 2 images of Uranus were published in a form closer to ‘true’ color, those of Neptune were, in fact, stretched and enhanced, and therefore made artificially too blue,” said University of Oxford’s Professor Patrick Irwin.

“Even though the artificially-saturated color was known at the time amongst planetary scientists — and the images were released with captions explaining it — that distinction had become lost over time.”

“Applying our model to the original data, we have been able to reconstitute the most accurate representation yet of the color of both Neptune and Uranus.”

In the study, Professor Irwin and his colleagues used data from the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope.

This means that STIS and MUSE observations can be unambiguously processed to determine the true apparent color of Uranus and Neptune.

The astronomers used these data to re-balance the composite color images recorded by the Voyager 2 camera, and also by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3).

This revealed that Uranus and Neptune are actually a rather similar shade of greenish blue.

The main difference is that Neptune has a slight hint of additional blue, which the model reveals to be due to a thinner haze layer on that planet.

The study also provides an answer to the long-standing mystery of why Uranus’ color changes slightly during its 84-year orbit of the Sun.

The authors came to their conclusion after first comparing images of the ice giant to measurements of its brightness, which were recorded by the Lowell Observatory in Arizona from 1950 to 2016 at blue and green wavelengths.

These measurements showed that Uranus appears a little greener at its solstices (i.e. summer and winter), when one of the planet’s poles is pointed towards our star.

But during its equinoxes — when the Sun is over the equator — it has a somewhat bluer tinge.

Part of the reason for this was known to be because Uranus has a highly unusual spin.

It effectively spins almost on its side during its orbit, meaning that during the planet’s solstices either its north or south pole points almost directly towards the Sun and Earth.

This is important because any changes to the reflectivity of the polar regions would therefore have a big impact on Uranus’ overall brightness when viewed from our planet.

What astronomers were less clear about is how or why this reflectivity differs.

This led the researchers to develop a model which compared the spectra of Uranus’ polar regions to its equatorial regions.

It found that the polar regions are more reflective at green and red wavelengths than at blue wavelengths, partly because methane, which is red absorbing, is about half as abundant near the poles than the equator.

However, this wasn’t enough to fully explain the color change so the researchers added a new variable to the model in the form of a ‘hood’ of gradually thickening icy haze which has previously been observed over the summer, sunlit pole as the planet moves from equinox to solstice.

Astronomers think this is likely to be made up of methane ice particles.

When simulated in the model, the ice particles further increased the reflection at green and red wavelengths at the poles, offering an explanation as to why Uranus is greener at the solstice.

“This is the first study to match a quantitative model to imaging data to explain why the color of Uranus changes during its orbit,” Professor Irwin said.

“In this way, we have demonstrated that Uranus is greener at the solstice due to the polar regions having reduced methane abundance but also an increased thickness of brightly scattering methane ice particles.”

“The misperception of Neptune’s color, as well as the unusual color changes of Uranus, have bedevilled us for decades. This comprehensive study should finally put both issues to rest,” said Dr. Heidi Hammel, a researcher at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).

The results appear in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

_____

Patrick G.J. Irwin et al. 2024. Modelling the seasonal cycle of Uranus’s colour and magnitude, and comparison with Neptune. MNRAS 527 (4): 11521-11538; doi: 10.1093/mnras/stad3761

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Breaking Science News – https://www.sci.news/astronomy/uranus-neptune-true-colors-12589.html

Tags: NeptunescienceUranus
Previous Post

Paleontologists Find 315-Million-Year-Old Sponge Fossil in Ireland

Next Post

Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua reportedly confirmed

Hidlay takes World title by force, Haines finishes with silver, Carr fifth in men’s freestyle – USA Wrestling

Hidlay takes World title by force, Haines finishes with silver, Carr fifth in men’s freestyle – USA Wrestling

September 16, 2025
Netanyahu warns Israel may need ‘super-Sparta’ economy amid growing global isolation – Ynetnews

Netanyahu Urges Israel to Forge a ‘Super-Sparta’ Economy to Defy Rising Global Isolation

September 16, 2025
Here’s how NJ’s once-vibrant nightclub scene was born and why it died – Bergen Record

The Rise and Fall of New Jersey’s Once-Vibrant Nightclub Scene: What Happened?

September 16, 2025
Advocates Raise Alarm Over Health Care Cuts at Wheeling Town Hall – theintelligencer.net

Community Rallies in Outcry Against Proposed Health Care Cuts at Wheeling Town Hall Meeting

September 16, 2025
115th N.Y. Assembly candidates to be certified this week – Spectrum News

115th N.Y. Assembly Candidates Poised for Official Certification This Week

September 16, 2025
Antibiotic pollution could accelerate amphibian decline by turning a potential solution into a threat – Phys.org

Antibiotic pollution could accelerate amphibian decline by turning a potential solution into a threat – Phys.org

September 16, 2025
Fiji’s Ants Are Struggling. Scientists Say They’re Part of the Broader ‘Insect Apocalypse’ – Smithsonian Magazine

Fiji’s Ants Are Disappearing: A Stark Sign of the Global Insect Crisis

September 16, 2025

California Leads the Way with a Bipartisan, Science-Backed Ban on Ultra-Processed School Meals

September 16, 2025

Marwa Zaied: Leading the Revolution in Cancer Care and Longevity with Lifestyle Medicine

September 16, 2025
Will New Big Technology Engagements Reshape Innodata’s Growth Path? – Yahoo Finance

Could New Major Tech Partnerships Propel Innodata to Unprecedented Growth?

September 16, 2025

Categories

Archives

September 2025
MTWTFSS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930 
« Aug    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (822)
  • Economy (841)
  • Entertainment (21,720)
  • General (17,064)
  • Health (9,886)
  • Lifestyle (856)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (845)
  • Politics (851)
  • Science (16,052)
  • Sports (21,341)
  • Technology (15,823)
  • World (825)

Recent News

Hidlay takes World title by force, Haines finishes with silver, Carr fifth in men’s freestyle – USA Wrestling

Hidlay takes World title by force, Haines finishes with silver, Carr fifth in men’s freestyle – USA Wrestling

September 16, 2025
Netanyahu warns Israel may need ‘super-Sparta’ economy amid growing global isolation – Ynetnews

Netanyahu Urges Israel to Forge a ‘Super-Sparta’ Economy to Defy Rising Global Isolation

September 16, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version