Growing evidence suggests that a subsurface ocean lurks beneath the icy surface of Uranus’ moon Ariel, but new research, published in Icarus, characterizes the possible evolution of this ocean, and […]
Uranus
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Proxima Centauri, Saturn, tau Ceti, Uranus
On the Detection Of Exorings in Reflected Light With JWST NIRCam
When directly imaging a cold giant exoplanet hosting a ring system, the reflected light from the rings can outshine the planet’s thermal emission and reflected-light in the near-infrared.
Posted inAriel, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Miranda, Missions & Hardware, Oberon, Press Release, Titania, Umbriel, Uranus
The Uranus Flagship: Investigating New Paradigms for Outer Solar System Exploration Workshop Summary Report
This white paper is a summary of the Uranus Flagship Workshop that took place 21 to 23 May 2024 at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Co-led by Goddard and Johns […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Neptune, Status Report, Uranus
Ab Initio Entropy Calculations of Water Predict the Interiors of Uranus and Neptune to be 15-30% Colder than Previous Models
Ab initio free energy calculations are employed to derive the entropy of liquid and superionic water over a wide range of conditions in the interiors of Uranus and Neptune. The […]
![[LEFT] Titan [RIGHT] Uranus -- NASA.gov](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Photochemical-Haze-Formation.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Titan, Uranus
Photochemical Haze Formation on Titan and Uranus: A Comparative Review
The formation and evolution of haze layers in planetary atmospheres play a critical role in shaping their chemical composition, radiative balance, and optical properties.
Posted inAriel Mission, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Neptune, Status Report, Uranus
The Possibility of Hydrogen-Water Demixing in Uranus, Neptune, K2-18b and TOI-270d
The internal structures of Uranus and Neptune remain unknown. In addition, sub-Neptunes are now thought to be the most common type of exoplanets.
![Reprocessed images of Uranus [L]] and Neptune [R] NASA/JPL-Caltech (Uranus and Neptune); “Modelling the Seasonal Cycle of Uranus’s Colour and Magnitude, and Comparison with Neptune,” by Patrick G. J. Irwin et al., in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 527, No. 4; February 2024 (reprocessed images)](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Different-Inhomogeneous-Evolutionary.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Neptune, Status Report, Uranus
Different Inhomogeneous Evolutionary Histories for Uranus and Neptune
We present updated non-adiabatic and inhomogeneous evolution models for Uranus and Neptune, employing an interior composition of methane, ammonia, water, and rocks.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Ice Giant, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Status Report, Uranus
Improved H2-He and H2-H2 Collision-Induced Absorption Models and Application to Outer-Planet Atmospheres
Using state-of-the-art ab initio interaction-induced dipole and potential-energy surfaces for hydrogen-helium (H2-He) pairs, we compute the rototranslational collision-induced absorption coefficient at 40-400 K for frequencies covering 0-4000 cm-1.
Posted inAriel, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Oberon, Press Release, Titania, Umbriel, Uranus
The Moons of Uranus Surprise Scientists
Scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope went looking for evidence of one phenomenon and found quite another. The research team studied the four largest moons of the ice giant Uranus, […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Uranus
Using Stellar Occultation To Study The Atmosphere Of Ice Giant Uranus
When a planet’s orbit brings it between Earth and a distant star, it’s more than just a cosmic game of hide and seek. It’s an opportunity for NASA to improve […]