• First-ever 3D map of Uranus’ upper atmosphere shows how magnetic field shapes auroras Uranus’ magnetic field is tilted by nearly 60 degrees and offset from the planet’s centre. • A research team has successfully created the first-ever three-dimensional map of Uranus’s upper atmosphere. • This reveals how the ice giant’s unusual magnetic field shapes spectacular auroras high above the planet’s clouds. • The team led by Paola Tiranti observed Uranus for nearly a full rotation, detecting the faint glow from molecules up to 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometres) above the cloud tops. • The observations provide the most detailed picture yet of where the planet’s auroras form and how energy moves through its atmosphere. • Auroras occur when energetic particles become trapped in a planet’s magnetic field and strike the upper atmosphere, releasing energy that creates a signature glow.
Article Summaries:
- Scientists have produced the first three‑dimensional map of Uranus’s upper atmosphere using the James Webb Space Telescope. Observations over nearly a full planetary rotation revealed auroral glow up to 5,000 km above the cloud tops, showing how the planet’s highly tilted (≈60°) and offset magnetic field directs charged particles. The study measured temperature peaks at 3,000-4,000 km altitude and ion‑density maxima near 1,000 km, confirming a long‑term cooling trend that has puzzled researchers for decades. The data, published in Geophysical Research Letters, provide new constraints for modeling ice‑giant ionospheres and magnetospheres.
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