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By NASA
5 Min Read Planetary Alignment Provides NASA Rare Opportunity to Study Uranus
Artist's illustration showing a distant star going out of sight as it is eclipsed by Uranus – an event known as a planetary stellar occultation. Credits: NASA/Advanced Concepts Laboratory When a planet’s orbit brings it between Earth and a distant star, it’s more than just a cosmic game of hide and seek. It’s an opportunity for NASA to improve its understanding of that planet’s atmosphere and rings. Planetary scientists call it a stellar occultation and that’s exactly what happened with Uranus on April 7.
Observing the alignment allows NASA scientists to measure the temperatures and composition of Uranus’ stratosphere – the middle layer of a planet’s atmosphere – and determine how it has changed over the last 30 years since Uranus’ last significant occultation.
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This rendering demonstrates what is happening during a stellar occultation and illustrates an example of the light curve data graph recorded by scientists that enables them to gather atmospheric measurements, like temperature and pressure, from Uranus as the amount of starlight changes when the planet eclipses the star.NASA/Advanced Concepts Laboratory “Uranus passed in front of a star that is about 400 light years from Earth,” said William Saunders, planetary scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and science principal investigator and analysis lead, for what NASA’s team calls the Uranus Stellar Occultation Campaign 2025. “As Uranus began to occult the star, the planet’s atmosphere refracted the starlight, causing the star to appear to gradually dim before being blocked completely. The reverse happened at the end of the occultation, making what we call a light curve. By observing the occultation from many large telescopes, we are able to measure the light curve and determine Uranus’ atmospheric properties at many altitude layers.”
We are able to measure the light curve and determine Uranus' atmospheric properties at many altitude layers.
William Saunders
Planetary Scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center
This data mainly consists of temperature, density, and pressure of the stratosphere. Analyzing the data will help researchers understand how the middle atmosphere of Uranus works and could help enable future Uranus exploration efforts.
To observe the rare event, which lasted about an hour and was only visible from Western North America, planetary scientists at NASA Langley led an international team of over 30 astronomers using 18 professional observatories.
Kunio Sayanagi, NASA’s principal investigator for the Uranus Stellar Occultation Campaign 2025, meeting virtually with partners and observing data from the Flight Mission Support Center at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia during Uranus’ stellar occultation event on April 7, 2025.NASA/Dave MacDonnell “This was the first time we have collaborated on this scale for an occultation,” said Saunders. “I am extremely grateful to each member of the team and each observatory for taking part in this extraordinary event. NASA will use the observations of Uranus to determine how energy moves around the atmosphere and what causes the upper layers to be inexplicably hot. Others will use the data to measure Uranus’ rings, its atmospheric turbulence, and its precise orbit around the Sun.”
Knowing the location and orbit of Uranus is not as simple as it sounds. In 1986, NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft became the first and only spacecraft to fly past the planet – 10 years before the last bright stellar occultation occured in 1996. And, Uranus’ exact position in space is only accurate to within about 100 miles, which makes analyzing this new atmospheric data crucial to future NASA exploration of the ice giant.
These investigations were possible because the large number of partners provided many unique views of the stellar occultation from many different instruments.
NASA planetary scientist William Saunders and Texas A&M University research assistant Erika Cook in the control room of the McDonald Observatory’s Otto Struve Telescope in Jeff Davis County, Texas, during the Uranus stellar occultation on April 7, 2025.Joshua Santana Emma Dahl, a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech in Pasadena, California, assisted in gathering observations from NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii – an observatory first built to support NASA’s Voyager missions.
“As scientists, we do our best work when we collaborate. This was a team effort between NASA scientists, academic researchers, and amateur astronomers,” said Dahl. “The atmospheres of the gas and ice giant planets [Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune] are exceptional atmospheric laboratories because they don’t have solid surfaces. This allows us to study cloud formation, storms, and wind patterns without the extra variables and effects a surface produces, which can complicate simulations very quickly.”
On November 12, 2024, NASA Langley researchers and collaborators were able to do a test run to prepare for the April occultation. Langley coordinated two telescopes in Japan and one in Thailand to observe a dimmer Uranus stellar occultation only visible from Asia. As a result, these observers learned how to calibrate their instruments to observe stellar occultations, and NASA was able to test its theory that multiple observatories working together could capture Uranus’ big event in April.
Researchers from the Paris Observatory and Space Science Institute, in contact with NASA, also coordinated observations of the November 2024 occultation from two telescopes in India. These observations of Uranus and its rings allowed the researchers, who were also members of the April 7 occultation team, to improve the predictions about the timing on April 7 down to the second and also improved modeling to update Uranus’ expected location during the occultation by 125 miles.
This image of Uranus from NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope exquisitely captures Uranus’s seasonal north polar cap and dim inner and outer rings. This Webb image also shows 9 of the planet’s 27 moons – clockwise starting at 2 o’clock, they are: Rosalind, Puck, Belinda, Desdemona, Cressida, Bianca, Portia, Juliet, and Perdita.NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Uranus is almost 2 billion miles away from Earth and has an atmosphere composed of primarily hydrogen and helium. It does not have a solid surface, but rather a soft surface made of water, ammonia, and methane. It’s called an ice giant because its interior contains an abundance of these swirling fluids that have relatively low freezing points. And, while Saturn is the most well-known planet for having rings, Uranus has 13 known rings composed of ice and dust.
Over the next six years, Uranus will occult several dimmer stars. NASA hopes to gather airborne and possibly space-based measurements of the next bright Uranus occultation in 2031, which will be of an even brighter star than the one observed in April.
For more information on NASA’s Uranus Stellar Occultation Campaign 2025:
https://science.larc.nasa.gov/URANUS2025
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
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karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Charles Hatfield
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
757-262-8289
charles.g.hatfield@nasa.gov
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Charles G. Hatfield
Science Public Affairs Officer, NASA Langley Research Center
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Last Updated Apr 22, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Have we ever been to Uranus?
The answer is simple, yes, but only once. The Voyager II spacecraft flew by the planet Uranus back in 1986, during a golden era when the Voyager spacecraft explored all four giant planets of our solar system. It revealed an extreme world, a planet that had been bowled over onto its side by some extreme cataclysm early in the formation of the solar system.
That means that its seasons and its magnetic field get exposed to the most dramatic seasonal variability of any place that we know of in the solar system. The atmosphere was a churning system made of methane and hydrogen and water, with methane clouds showing up as white against the bluer background of the planet itself.
The densely packed ring system is host to a number of very fine, narrow and dusty rings surrounded by a collection of icy satellites. And those satellites may harbor deep, dark, hidden oceans beneath an icy crust of water ice.
Taken together, this extreme and exciting system is somewhere that we simply must go back to explore and hopefully in the next one to two decades NASA and the European Space Agency will mount an ambitious mission to go out there and explore the Uranian system. It’s important not just for solar system science, but also for the growing field of exoplanet science. As planets of this particular size, the size of Uranus, about four times wider than planet Earth, seem to be commonplace throughout our galaxy.
So how have we been to Uranus? Yes, but it’s time that we went back.
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Article 1 hour ago 3 min read Hubble Helps Determine Uranus’ Rotation Rate with Unprecedented Precision
An international team of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has made new measurements…
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Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 3 Min Read Hubble Helps Determine Uranus’ Rotation Rate with Unprecedented Precision
These images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope showcase the dynamic aurora on Uranus in October 2022. Credits:
ESA/Hubble, NASA, L. Lamy, L. Sromovsky An international team of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has made new measurements of Uranus’ interior rotation rate with a novel technique, achieving a level of accuracy 1,000 times greater than previous estimates. By analyzing more than a decade of Hubble observations of Uranus’ aurorae, researchers have refined the planet’s rotation period and established a crucial new reference point for future planetary research.
These images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope showcase the dynamic aurora on Uranus in October 2022. These observations were made by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and includes both visible and ultraviolet data. An international team of astronomers used Hubble to make new measurements of Uranus’ interior rotation rate by analyzing more than a decade of the telescope’s observations of Uranus’ aurorae. This refinement of the planet’s rotation period achieved a level of accuracy 1000 times greater than previous estimates and serves as a crucial new reference point for future planetary research. ESA/Hubble, NASA, L. Lamy, L. Sromovsky Determining a planet’s interior rotation rate is challenging, particularly for a world like Uranus, where direct measurements are not possible. A team led by Laurent Lamy (of LIRA, Observatoire de Paris-PSL and LAM, Aix-Marseille Univ., France), developed an innovative method to track the rotational motion of Uranus’ aurorae: spectacular light displays generated in the upper atmosphere by the influx of energetic particles near the planet’s magnetic poles. This technique revealed that Uranus completes a full rotation in 17 hours, 14 minutes, and 52 seconds — 28 seconds longer than the estimate obtained by NASA’s Voyager 2 during its 1986 flyby.
“Our measurement not only provides an essential reference for the planetary science community but also resolves a long-standing issue: previous coordinate systems based on outdated rotation periods quickly became inaccurate, making it impossible to track Uranus’ magnetic poles over time,” explains Lamy. “With this new longitude system, we can now compare auroral observations spanning nearly 40 years and even plan for the upcoming Uranus mission.”
This image of Uranus’ aurorae was taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 10 October 2022. These observations were made by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and includes both visible and ultraviolet data. An international team of astronomers used Hubble to make new measurements of Uranus’ interior rotation rate by analyzing more than a decade of the telescope’s observations of Uranus’ aurorae. This refinement of the planet’s rotation period achieved a level of accuracy 1000 times greater than previous estimates and serves as a crucial new reference point for future planetary research. ESA/Hubble, NASA, L. Lamy, L. Sromovsky This breakthrough was possible thanks to Hubble’s long-term monitoring of Uranus. Over more than a decade, Hubble has regularly observed its ultraviolet auroral emissions, enabling researchers to produce magnetic field models that successfully match the changing position of the magnetic poles with time.
“The continuous observations from Hubble were crucial,” says Lamy. “Without this wealth of data, it would have been impossible to detect the periodic signal with the level of accuracy we achieved.”
Unlike the aurorae of Earth, Jupiter, or Saturn, Uranus’ aurorae behave in a unique and unpredictable manner. This is due to the planet’s highly tilted magnetic field, which is significantly offset from its rotational axis. The findings not only help astronomers understand Uranus’ magnetosphere but also provide vital information for future missions.
These findings set the stage for further studies that will deepen our understanding of one of the most mysterious planets in the Solar System. With its ability to monitor celestial bodies over decades, the Hubble Space Telescope continues to be an indispensable tool for planetary science, paving the way for the next era of exploration at Uranus.
These results are based on observations acquired with Hubble programs GO #12601, 13012, 14036, 16313 and DDT #15380 (PI: L. Lamy). The team’s paper was published in Nature Astronomy.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
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Last Updated Apr 09, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Contact Media Claire Andreoli
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The NASA History Office brings you the new Spring 2025 issue of NASA History News & Notes reflecting on some of the transitional periods in NASA’s history, as well as the legacies of past programs. Topics include NASA’s 1967 class of astronauts, historic experiments in airborne astronomy, NASA’s aircraft consolidation efforts in the 1990s, lightning observations from space, the founding of the NACA, the DC-8 airborne science laboratory, and more!
Volume 42, Number 1
Spring 2025
Featured Articles
From the Chief Historian
By Brian Odom
In the first few months of 2025, NASA will celebrate several significant anniversaries, including the 110th anniversary of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) (March 3), the 55th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13 (April 11), and the 35th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope (April 24). Celebrating these important milestones is a way for us as an agency and for the public to reflect upon where we have been and what we have accomplished and to think about what we might accomplish next. Continue Reading
The XS-11 and the Transition Away from Mandatory Jet Pilot Training for NASA Astronauts
By Jennifer Ross-Nazzal
Flying in space has been associated with pilots ever since 1959, when NASA announced its first class of astronauts, known as the Mercury 7. Part of being a professional astronaut meant you were a certified jet pilot. Even the scientist-astronauts, so named to differentiate them from the astronauts assigned to the Mercury and Gemini missions, selected in 1965 and in 1967, received pilot training. Until NASA better understood the impact of weightlessness on the human body, Robert R. Gilruth, head of the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston, believed all astronauts should meet this qualification. But when five scientist-astronauts from the 1967 class had a rocky transition, leading them to resign—due to their disinterest in flying at the cost of their scientific training and no spaceflight opportunities—it eventually led NASA to rethink their idea of having all astronauts become jet pilots. Continue Reading
Portrait of NASA’s 1967 group of astronauts. Seated at the table, left to right, are Philip K. Chapman, Robert A. R. Parker, William E. Thornton, and John A. Llewellyn. Standing, left to right, are Joseph P. Allen IV, Karl G. Henize, Anthony W. England, Donald L. Holmquest, Story Musgrave, William B. Lenoir, and Brian T. O’Leary.NASA The High-Flying Legacy of Airborne Observation: How Experimental Aircraft Contributed to Astronomy at NASA
By Lois Rosson
In June 2011, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) chased down Pluto’s occultation of a far-away star. … SOFIA’s 2011 observation of Pluto followed up on a historic 1988 observation made by the airborne Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) that proved that Pluto had an atmosphere at all. The technical versatility of both flights, conducted from aircraft hurtling stabilized telescopes through the air, speaks to the legacy of airborne astronomical observation at NASA. But how did this idiosyncratic format emerge in the first place? Airborne astronomy, in which astronomical observations are made from a moving aircraft, was attempted almost as soon as airplanes themselves were developed. Continue Reading
NASA’s Tortuous Effort to Consolidate its Aircraft
By Robert Arrighi
Thirty years ago, on January 6, 1995, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin announced, “We’ve started a revolution at NASA. It’s real. We have a road map for change. We’ve already begun.” Thus began one of the agency’s most daunting endeavors, a top-to-bottom reassessment of NASA’s processes, programmatic assignments, and staffing levels. One of the most controversial aspects of this effort was the proposal to transfer nearly all of the agency’s research aircraft to Dryden Flight Research Center (today known as Armstrong). Continue Reading
Three ER-2 Aircraft in formation over Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA on their final flight out of NASA Ames Research Center before redeployment to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, now known as NASA Armstrong.NASA/Eric James The Space Between: Mesoscale Lightning Observations and Weather Forecasting, 1965–82
By Brad Massey
Skylab astronaut Edward G. Gibson looked down at Earth often during his 84 days on NASA’s first space station. From his orbital vantage point, Gibson took in the breathtaking views of our planet’s diverse landscapes. He also noted the interesting behavior of the planet’s most powerful electrical force: lightning. … Gibson’s words were of great interest to the lightning researchers affiliated with NASA’s Severe Storms and Local Research Program and others who believed observing Earth’s lightning from low Earth orbit generated valuable data that meteorologists could use to better forecast dangerous storm characteristics and behavior. With these motivations in mind, researchers created new Earth- and space-based experiments from the mid-1960s to the first Space Shuttle missions in the early 1980s that observed lightning on a regional level. Continue Reading
Adding Color to the Moon: Jack Kinzler’s Oral History Interviews
By Sandra Johnson
Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) Director Robert R. Gilruth placed a call to Jack Kinzler less than four months before the Apollo 11 launch. Gilruth asked him to attend a meeting with a high-level group of individuals from both MSC and NASA Headquarters to discuss ideas for celebrating the first lunar landing. Kinzler, in his capacity as the chief of the Technical Services Division, arrived ready to present his suggestions for commemorating the achievement. Continue Reading
Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during the mission’s extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface.NASA The Founding of the NACA
By James Anderson
One hundred ten years ago this month, NASA’s predecessor organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), was founded. The date of the anniversary marks the passage of a rider to a naval appropriations bill that established the NACA for the modest sum of $5,000 annually. Telling the story of the NACA’s founding in this manner—using March 3, 1915, as the moment in time to represent the NACA’s beginning—is true, but it overlooks two crucial aspects of the founding. The founding was both a culmination and a turning point for science and aeronautics in the United States. Continue Reading
Remembering the DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory at NASA
By Bradley Lynn Coleman
The NASA History Office and NASA Earth Science Division cohosted a workshop on the recently retired NASA DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory (1986–2024) at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington, DC, October 24 and 25, 2024. The workshop celebrated the history of the legendary aircraft; documented DC-8–enabled scientific, engineering, education, and outreach activities; and captured lessons of the past for future operators. Continue Reading
The DC-8 in flight near Lone Pine, California. NASA/Jim Ross Download the Spring 2025 Edition More Issues of NASA History News and Notes Share
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