NASA scientists have found strong evidence of a polar cyclone on Uranus for the first time.
Researchers examined radio waves emitted from the ice giant and detected the phenomenon at its north pole.
NASA stated in a press release that these findings published in Geophysical Research Letters confirms a general truth.
All planets that have substantial atmospheres, regardless of whether the main composition is rock or gas show signs of vortices at their poles.
It has long been known that the south pole of Uranus has such a “swirling” feature and imaging from NASA’s Voyager 2 mission showed winds at the polar center spinning faster than over the rest of the pole.
While the spacecraft’s infrared measurements showed no temperature chances, the new study does.
They reached these conclusions by using radio antenna dishes from New Mexico’s Very Large Array, finding that the air and the north pole seems to be warmer and drier – much like cyclones spotted by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft at Saturn.
The Agency said that those were hallmarks for a powerful cyclone.
“These observations tell us a lot more about the story of Uranus. It’s a much more dynamic world than you might think,” lead author Alex Akins, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. It’s not just a blue gas ball. There’s a lot happening under the hood.”
The observations were collected in 2015, 2021 and last year, and went deeper into the planet’s atmosphere than any previous observations.
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NASA said that the position of Uranus in its long orbit around the sun has helped to get a better view.
Until recently, Earth’s poles were not facing the Earth.
With these new discoveries, there are cyclones and anti-cyclones at the poles of every planet in our solar system except Mercury. Mercury has no substantial atmosphere.
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