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Mid-Infrared Observations of Neptune and Uranus: Recent Discoveries and Future Opportunities

Authors :
Michael T. Roman
Leigh N. Fletcher
Glenn S. Orton
Thomas K. Greathouse
Julianne Moses
Naomi Rowe-Gurney
Patrick G. J. Irwin
Yasumasa Kasaba
Takuya Fujiyoshi
Heidi B. Hammel
Imke de Pater
James Sinclair
Arrate Antuñano
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
Copernicus GmbH, 2022.

Abstract

We present the primary results from our recent analyses of mid-infrared observations of Neptune and Uranus from ground-based telescopes, including VLT-VISIR, Subaru-COMICS, and Gemini-TEXES. We discuss our recent discovery that Neptune’s stratospheric temperatures appear to be changing dramatically in just the past few years, following decades of cooling. In contrast, we show that no evidence yet exists of long-term thermal changes in Uranus’ stratosphere, but mid-IR observations of Uranus are still extremely limited. We share new observations from VLT-VISIR, express the need for continued ground-based imaging, and discuss how the James Webb Space Telescope MIRI observations will help greatly advance our understanding of the Ice Giants in the years ahead.

Details

Database :
OpenAIRE
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........f1a400d3f8911dd7a5420896a90e4b2f
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4149