by A vortex of relatively warm air has been detected swirling beneath Uranus' clouds, providing strong evidence for the existence of a cyclone anchored at the planet's north pole.
The findings add fuel to the fire that Uranus is not as atmospherically inert as it initially seemed when NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past the "ice giant" in January 1986.
Polar vortices seem to be a common trait of all planets with atmospheres, at least in our solar system – they have been previously observed on Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus (at its south pole) and Neptune.
High-altitude atmospheric jet streams are thought to be responsible for the formation of these vortices, although the details differ on each planet.
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The findings add fuel to the fire that Uranus is not as atmospherically inert as it initially seemed when NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past the "ice giant" in January 1986.
Polar vortices seem to be a common trait of all planets with atmospheres, at least in our solar system – they have been previously observed on Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus (at its south pole) and Neptune.
High-altitude atmospheric jet streams are thought to be responsible for the formation of these vortices, although the details differ on each planet.
Source
