Revealing an Ice Giant in the Infrared: Uranus from JWST — Michael Roman (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez)

Infrared spectroscopy provides essential constraints on the thermal, chemical, and cloud-forming processes that shape planetary atmospheres. Of the Solar System’s giant planets, Uranus’ exceptionally low temperatures yield the weakest thermal radiance, hampering our ability to measure its infrared spectrum. Consequently, Uranus’ thermal and compositional structures have remained poorly characterized, limiting our understanding of how its temperatures, circulation, and photochemistry respond to the planet’s anomalously weak internal heat flux and the unique seasonal variation in sunlight produced by its extreme axial tilt. Here, using the extreme sensitivity of JWST’s MIRI and NIRSpec instruments, we present the first measurements of Uranus’ spatially resolved spectrum spanning the near- and mid-infrared (1.66–28.70 micrometers), revealing how temperatures, composition, and clouds vary across the planet’s northern hemisphere. Together, they present the most comprehensive view of Uranus’ middle atmosphere yet observed and provide new insights into its unique structure.

Horarios: 31 Mar 2026

Publicado por: Gijs Mulders