Neptune’s Disappearing Clouds Linked to the Solar Cycle

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Recent observations from the Hubble Space Telescope show that Neptune's clouds are almost completely disappearing!

Astronomers report that their continual monitoring of Neptune’s weather uncovered a link between its shifting cloud abundance and the 11-year solar cycle, where the Sun’s activity waxes and wanes under the driving force of its entangled magnetic field.

At present, the cloud coverage seen on Neptune is extremely low, with the exception of some clouds hovering over the giant planet’s south pole. A team of astronomers discovered that the abundance of clouds normally seen at the icy giant’s mid-latitudes started to fade in 2019.

For more information, visit https://nasa.gov/hubble.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Paul Morris: Lead Producer

Music Credit: “Outer Rim” by Brandon Seliga [BMI] via Emperia Beta Publishing [BMI] and Universal Production Music

Image Credit: Image of Lick Observatory, credit UC Santa Cruz

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NASA Goddard

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English

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