A phenomenon caused by the difference in the thickness of the atmospheric haze layer… “causing whitening”
Uranus and Neptune, the ice worlds at the ends of the solar system, resemble twins.
It is made of gas and ice, and its mass is similar to that of Uranus 15 times that of Earth and Neptune 17 times, and Uranus is slightly larger in size, but it is roughly the same as that of Earth four times.
However, Uranus is light blue and Neptune is dark blue, showing similar but distinct differences.
This color difference has become an unresolved question for astronomers, but a study has found a key to the difference in atmospheric haze layers.
According to the American Association of Astronomy Research Universities (AURA) and foreign media, a research team led by Dr. Patrick Irwin, a professor of planetary physics at Oxford University in the UK, investigated the cause of the color difference through a computer model of the atmospheric haze layer of the two planets. It was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
The research team explained that the methane present in the atmospheres of the two planets causes a scattering effect and absorbs red from the sun’s light to give them the same blue color, but the thickness of the haze layer formed in the atmospheres is different, resulting in a lighter and darker color tone. .
The research team comprehensively analyzed the results of observations with wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to visible to near-infrared using the near-infrared spectrometer installed at the Gemini Northern Observatory in Hawaii and the Hubble Space Telescope. created a new model that also included aerosol particles.
The model suggested that the atmospheres of the two planets consist of three layers of haze at each altitude, and that Uranus is twice as thick as Neptune in the middle layer of haze.
In this haze layer, methane ice condenses into haze particles and falls as methane snow.
In this regard, Dr. Irwin explained in an interview with the New York Times, “This haze has a whitening effect, so Uranus appears to have a lighter color than Neptune.”
The research team also said that the massive black point, which is often seen on Neptune but not seen well on Uranus, is caused by the evaporation of hydrogen sulfide ice from the bottom haze layer and darkening of particles, but it may be caused by Neptune being more visible.
The authenticity of this research result, which identified the color difference between the two planets at the end of the solar system, was confirmed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is preparing for full-scale operation, or NASA’s Neptune orbit and atmospheric probe to be launched in the 2030s. it is expected to be
/yunhap news