Abstract

An analysis of data collected by the Voyager 2 spacecraft and by ground-based telescopes limits the depths to which winds penetrate into Uranus and Neptune, informing the debate about these planets' internal structures. See Letter p.344 The depth to which the atmospheric circulation and climate extends on the giant planets has been a subject of debate for several decades. On the basis of Voyager 2 and Hubble Space Telescope measurements of wind speed on Uranus and Neptune, combined with gravity field data and atmospheric modelling, Yohai Kaspi et al. calculate that the winds on both planets are confined to a thin 'weather layer' no more than 1,000 km deep. This finding implies that the dynamics controlling these winds derive from come from shallow processes rather than deep atmospheric circulation. The methodology used here should also be applicable to the detailed gravity field data for Jupiter and Saturn anticipated from the low-flying Juno and Cassini orbiters.

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