In general, the weather on earth can be described in the following way, in response to incoming energy from the sun, the air rises at the equator and drifts to the poles where it is colder.
Because Uranus lies on it's side, with the north pole facing the sun for half a year, Uranus' weather cannot follow that basic pattern. The air would not rise at the equator because the equator never faces the sun. It would seem, instead, that the air would rise at the north pole and flow to the south pole, where it is colder.
In fact, the weather pattern on Uranus seems to be identical to that of Jupiter and Saturn, namely that the clouds flow in the striped zonal pattern. This would suggest that, for the atmosphere of Uranus, heating the atmosphere from the bottom is more important than warming the atmosphere at the top with sunlight.
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Explain Meteorology |
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Return to Uranus | |
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Return to atmosphere | |
The weather on earth can be described this way, air rises at the equator, where it is warm, and moves to the poles where it is colder.
Because Uranus lies on it's side, with the north pole facing the sun for half a year, Uranus' weather cannot follow that basic pattern. The air would not rise at the equator because the equator never faces the sun. It would seem, instead, that the air would rise at the north pole, where it is warm, and flow to the south pole, where it is colder.
In fact, the weather pattern on Uranus seems to be identical to that of Jupiter and Saturn, namely that the clouds flow in the striped pattern. This would suggest that, for the atmosphere of Uranus, heating the atmosphere from the bottom is more important than warming the atmosphere at the top with sunlight.
|
Explain Meteorology |
|
|
Return to Uranus | |
|
Return to atmosphere | |
The weather on earth can be described this way, air rises where it is warm (at the equator), and moves to where it is colder, (at the north pole).
Because Uranus lies on it's side, with the north pole facing the sun for half a year, Uranus' weather cannot follow that basic pattern. The air would not rise at the equator because the equator never faces the sun. It would seem, instead, that the air would rise at the north pole, where it is warm, and flow to the south pole, where it is colder.
In fact, the weather on Uranus seems to be the same as that of Jupiter and Saturn, namely that the clouds flow in the striped pattern. This would suggest that the atmosphere of Uranus is heated from the bottom instead of being warmed at the top by sunlight.
|
Explain Meteorology |
|
|
Return to Uranus | |
|
Return to atmosphere | |