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Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Uranus: New dark spot discovered

Would swallow 2/3 of the U.S.

winds whirl and clouds churn...in the atmosphere of Uranus, forming a dark vortex large enough to engulf two-thirds of the United States.

used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to take the first definitive images of a dark spot on Uranus. The elongated feature measures 1,100 miles by 1,900 miles

Although rare on Uranus, dark spots have been frequently observed on Neptune

Uranus is approaching its December 2007 equinox, when the Sun will shine directly over the equator. "We have hypothesized that Uranus might become more Neptune-like as it approached its equinox...the sudden appearance of this unusual dark feature suggests we might be right."

The dark spot was detected at a latitude of 27 degrees in Uranus's northern hemisphere, which is just now becoming fully exposed to sunlight after many years of being in shadow. Astronomers are keenly interested in how strongly and quickly the atmosphere of Uranus seems to be responding to seasonal sunlight changes.

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Tom Kalbfus

Banned

Registered: 2006-08-16

Posts: 4,401

Re: Uranus: New dark spot discovered

A dark spot on Uranus? Better go see a doctor. 

A most unfortunately named planet, maybe that's why NASA's priority is agt Neptune for the outer gas giants.