Introduction and Monthly Reminders
The first half of May has been a rollercoaster of a month. Utah has experienced a few days in the 80s, with others filled with rain, snow, and wind advisories. On the 10th of May, due to a very active Sun, observers in Utah were able to see the Aurora Borealis, aka the Northern Lights. Below are a few images I captured of the Sun and the lights.
 |
| The right side shows the sunspot region that produced the Aurora Borealis in Utah. |
 |
| Zoomed in image of sunspot region that produced the Aurora Borealis in Utah. |
 |
| Aurora Borealis facing north taken with my phone. |
 |
| Aurora Borealis facing northeast taken with my phone. |
 |
| Aurora Borealis facing northwest taken with my phone. |
The remainder of May does not offer much excitement unless the northern lights are visible again in Utah. I recommend using the Space Weather Live app to show the chances of seeing the northern lights in your area. I have used this app mainly to check the live view of the Sun and see if there are any visible sunspots. On the Auroral activity tab, a map shows where the northern lights are visible. I have also used Aurora, an app that will notify the user if there is a chance of seeing the northern lights in your area. This app also has an interactive map of the aurora and the chance to see it in the user's area.
Uranus
Uranus formed with the Sun and the rest of the solar system some 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists think that Uranus formed much closer to the Sun but has since moved to the outer solar system, where it is now the 7th planet. Instead of primarily being made of hydrogen and helium like the gas giants, Uranus is mainly made up of water ice mixed with methane and ammonia, putting this planet in the ice giant category instead of gas giant. Uranus is the third largest planet in the solar system but ranks seventh in density, beating out Saturn.
William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781, which Johann Bode confirmed. It was also the first planet discovered using a telescope. Herschel wanted to name the planet "Georgium Sidus" after King George III, but Bode instead named it for the Greek god of the sky, Uranus.
Uranus orbits the Sun at 19 AU, requiring a pair of binoculars or a telescope to see. Since methane gas absorbs red light, Uranus's reflected sunlight gives it a blue-green color. The seventh planet is approximately four times larger than Earth, but rotates quickly, giving it a 17-hour day. However, a year on this planet is approximately 84 years on Earth. Uranus is the only planet, other than Venus, that rotates in the opposite direction compared to the other planets.
Like the other outer planets, Uranus has a ring system. They are quite faint when compared to Saturn's rings, but can still be viewed from Earth with a powerful telescope and proper filters. Uranus also has many moons. The latest count was 28 with all of them named after William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope characters instead of Greek or Roman mythology.
Sometime in Uranus' past, a large object smashed into this planet, tipping it on its side. Instead of spinning like a top on a table, Uranus rolls like a ball on its side. This extreme tilt gives the ice giant seasons, keeping each pole continually in sunlight or darkness for decades.
Uranus has only been visited by a single spacecraft, Voyager 2, in 1986. Most of the images of this ice giant came from this mission nearly 40 years ago. A new mission to Uranus is a high priority but has not yet been solidified. However, the New Horizons spacecraft may be used to observe both ice giants in the coming years.
Check back soon for my next post!
 |
| Now get outside and look up! |
No comments:
Post a Comment