Auroras help Nasa find poles of Uranus

12 April 2017 - 14:17 By Times LIVE
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This is a composite image of Uranus by Voyager 2 and two different observations made by Hubble — one for the ring and one for the auroras.
This is a composite image of Uranus by Voyager 2 and two different observations made by Hubble — one for the ring and one for the auroras.
Image: ESA/Hubble & NASA, L. Lamy / Observatoire de Paris

Recent composite images from Voyager 2 and the Hubble Telescope spotted intense auroras on the ice planet Uranus.

According to Nasa auroras are caused by streams of charged particles getting caught in poweful magnetic fields, channelling them into the upper atmosphere where they interact with gas particles and set off spectacular light shows.

In 2013 and 2014 a teal lead by an astronomer from Paris Observatory took a look at Uranus' auroras using the ultraviolet capabilities of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) installed on Hubble.

As they tracked the interplanetary shocks of solar wind blowing from the sun to Uranus, the researchers got a look at the most intense aurora ever seen on the planet.

They also managed to rediscover Uranus' poles - which had been lost largely because of how featureless the planet's surface is.

Uranus isn't the only planet other than ours to have auroras - they have been observed on Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.

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