Enigmatic Dark Mark Spotted on Neptune
Astronomers have made a groundbreaking observation of a sizable and enigmatic dark spot within Neptune's atmosphere, accompanied by an unexpectedly luminous counterpart. This revelation was facilitated by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, marking the first time an Earth-based telescope has detected such a phenomenon on Neptune.
While space-based observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope had previously captured vortex-like storms, akin to dark spots, swirling in the blue planet's atmosphere, this new revelation provides crucial insights. The research, recently published in the journal Nature Astronomy, is shedding light on these elusive features.
Lead study author Patrick Irwin, a professor of planetary physics at the University of Oxford, expresse...