NASA gives 'Grand Tour' of the outer solar system through new Hubble images; have a look

The year 2021 is coming to an end and NASA has decided to close the show by giving astronomy aficionados a “grand tour” of the outer solar system. The agency, on Friday, released new images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of the four planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and needless to say, they are not something to miss. Along with the images, it also shared the new findings and observations about the said planets. 

The images above were captured by Hubble as part of yearly maps of each planet taken as part of the Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy program, or OPAL. "The program provides annual, global views of the outer planets to look for changes in their storms, winds, and clouds. Knowledge from the OPAL program can also be extended far beyond our own solar system in the study of atmospheres of planets that orbit stars other than our Sun," NASA said in its latest release.

Jupiter

The image released of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was taken on September 4 and it tracks the ever-changing landscape of the gas giant's turbulent atmosphere, where several new storms are making their mark. Researchers are also scratching their heads over the pace of changing colours near the planet's equator. "The planet’s equatorial zone has remained a deep orange hue for a much longer time, compared to previous darkening episodes. While the equator has changed from its traditional white or beige appearance for a few years now, scientists were surprised to find the deeper orange color to persist", NASA said.

Saturn

This planet has been a subject of fascination owing to its magnificent visible ring. Saturn's new image was captured on September 12 shows rapid and extreme color changes of the bands in the planet’s northern hemisphere, where it is early autumn right now. NASA noted that Saturn's bands have also varied in previous Hubble observations in 2019 and 2020. Besides, its iconic hexagonal storm is also evident in this new image and scientists found by the blue-coloured hue in the picture that Saturn is following the southern hemisphere’s winter.

Uranus

The image of Uranus below was taken on October 25, as per NASA, and shows a bright polar region of the planet. Uranus' northern hemisphere is undergoing the spring season and the increase in ultraviolet radiation absorbed from the Sun is making it glow. NASA said, "Researchers are studying how the brightening polar hood results from changes in the concentration of atmospheric methane gas and the characteristics of haze particles, as well as the atmospheric flow patterns".  

Neptune

This image of Neptune was also captured in early September by Hubble and researchers found that its dark spot, which recently was found to have reversed course from moving toward the equator, is still visible in this image. Besides, the image also features a dark, elongated circle encompassing Neptune’s south pole. The blue colour of the planet is a result of the absorption of red light by the planets’ methane-rich atmosphere, combined with the same process that makes the Earth's sky blue. 

Image: Twitter/@NASAHubble