While mysteries of peculiar climates on various exoplanets have been unveiled, the true nature of Neptune, a planet within our Solar System, remains an intriguing puzzle for astronomers.
Due to its distance of 4.5 billion kilometers from Earth, constantly freezing temperatures around -220 degrees Celsius, and perpetual darkness, observing the 8th planet from the Sun is an immensely challenging task.
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According to Sci-News, a research team led by astronomer Michael Roman from the University of Leicester (UK), along with colleagues, investigated this unique planet using synthesized data from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, and two Subaru telescopes, Keck and Gemini North, located in Hawaii, USA, and the Gemini South telescope in Chile.
The Southern Hemisphere’s summer on Neptune has been ongoing since 2005 and is projected to last until 2045. This is because Neptune, Earth’s youngest sibling, orbits the Sun at the greatest distance, resulting in a significantly elongated orbit. One year on Neptune equals 165 Earth years, leading to a summer season lasting over four decades.
Scientists studied infrared light emitted from the planet’s stratosphere and were astounded to find that it was… cooling down after nearly two decades of what is referred to as the “summer” period.
Specifically, as reported by Science Alert, the average temperature of the planet has dropped by about 8 degrees from 2003 to the final comprehensive measurement in 2018.
Conversely, the planet’s southernmost region has experienced a considerable warming, with an increase of 11 degrees recorded between 2018 and 2020.
Currently, the exact causes behind the “cold summer” phenomenon and the sudden heating of the planet’s southern pole remain unknown. Researchers speculate that it might be due to complex chemical changes within the stratosphere, alterations in the atmosphere as a whole, or even random and intricate weather patterns, more intricate than any other planet in the Solar System.
Research on Neptune will persist, as it continues to captivate the astronomical community. Despite its frigid and seemingly desolate appearance, NASA suspects there might be an underwater ocean beneath the planet’s icy shell.
The study was recently published in the Planetary Science Journal.