During that period, the team watched the Antarctic turn darker and into winter, and as summer approaches, the Arctic becomes brighter. By observing the Earth at four different time points apart years, they can see how the gradual change of seasons affects the Earth. The top row shows how the Earth appears when viewed using visible light.
The second row at the top is a pseudo-color image based on visible light and near-infrared observations. Green indicates that there is less methane in the atmosphere than blue, and red indicates that there is no methane. Low atmospheric methane levels at the poles (remember, on the sides of the earth rather than on top and bottom) indicate that there is little seasonal variation in methane levels. In the leftmost image of this line, the green Antarctic is entering darkness. In the other three images, the green, low methane region of the Arctic can be seen. (The fourth line shows the lack of methane variation, but no color.)
But what about the third line? This shows the aerosol abundance estimate using visible and infrared images that have not yet been colored. The light area is cloudy, with high aerosol abundance, clear dark area and low aerosol abundance. What’s worth noting among these images is where yes Seasonal variation. The Arctic is evident in the early spring (2002), but as the summer progresses, the Arctic (2012-2022) becomes cloudy. On the contrary, as autumn to winter develops, the Antarctic region appears to have been cleared. The team believes that these seasonal changes are evidence that sunlight changes aerosol mist levels on Earth.
Although the results of this study cover a long 20 years, this still reflects only one seasonal change in Uranus’ atmosphere. As the polar regions enter the news season, the research team will continue to observe Uranus to collect more data.
This story originally appeared in wired Japan And has been translated from Japanese.
