Hubble's OPAL Program Marks 10 Years of Outer Planet Observations

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has provided groundbreaking insights into the weather, atmospheric dynamics, and seasonal changes of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune over the past decade.

• The OPAL (Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy) program has been capturing annual high-resolution images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune since 2014 to study their atmospheric changes and weather patterns.
• Hubble's data has revealed significant findings, such as Jupiter's shrinking Great Red Spot and seasonal changes in Saturn's atmospheric colors and ring 'spokes.'
• Uranus's extreme tilt has been linked to dramatic seasonal variations, including a brightening polar cap and methane-based storms as the planet nears its northern summer solstice in 2028.
• Hubble tracked the life cycles of Neptune's transitory dark storms and uncovered a surprising connection between the planet's cloud activity and the Sun's 11-year solar cycle.
• The decade-long OPAL program has produced a vast archive of data, supporting over 60 scientific publications and advancing our understanding of gas giants and their relevance to exoplanetary studies.

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