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- P41G-2686: Preliminary Uranus Atmospheric Results from the 2025 Stellar Occultation Campaign
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Board 2686‚ Hall EFG (Poster Hall)NOLA CC
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William Saunders, NASA Langley Research Center (First Author, Presenting Author)
Kunio Sayanagi, NASA Langley Research Center
Chris Anderson, College of Southern Idaho
Geoffrey Blake, California Institute of Technology
Katie Breeland-Newcomb, Lowell Observatory
Joel Castro-Chacón, National Autonomous University of Mexico
Nancy Chanover, New Mexico State University Main Campus
Erika Cook, Texas A&M University College Station
Mark Croom, New Mexico State University Main Campus
Emma Dahl, California Institute of Technology
Jack Dembicky, New Mexico State University Main Campus
Darren DePoy, Texas A&M University College Station
James Dull, College of Idaho
Richard French, Wellesley College
Gregory Harmon, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
Matthew Hedman, University of Idaho
Jon Holtzman, New Mexico State University Main Campus
William Hubbard, University of Arizona
Stephen Hummel, McDonald Observatory
Jason Jackiewicz, New Mexico State University
Brian Jackson, Boise State University
Craig KUlesa, University of Arizona
Matthew Lehner, Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Stephen Levine, Lowell Observatory
Donald McCarthy, University of Arizona
Brian McLeod, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Planetary Science Institute
Ryan Oelkers, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Michael Person, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Luke Schmidt, Yerkes Observatory
Michael Skrutskie, University of Virginia
Damya Souami, Paris Observatory Meudon
Hailey Stubbers, Boise State University
Anne Verbiscer, University of Virginia Main Campus
Leslie Young, Southwest Research Institute
Zhi-Wei Zhang, Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics
We present preliminary results from observing a Uranus stellar occultation on 2025 April 08 UT. A stellar occultation occurs when a planet in the solar system blocks the view of a distant star from Earth. Observations of occultations measure starlight refracting in the occulting planet’s atmosphere, which is analyzed to determine properties of the atmosphere of Uranus, in this case.The Uranus occultation that occurred on 2025 April 08 UT was of a bright star—the brightest in over 30 years. 17 professional telescopes (35+ astronomers) attempted to observe this occultation, 14 of which were successful, making this the largest Uranus stellar occultation campaign ever.
We report preliminary results on the temperature in the middle atmosphere of Uranus and how it differs from measurements made decades ago. We compare these measurements to those made of lower and upper atmospheric layers of Uranus, and measurements made of the other giant planets. We also report on measurments made of the rings of Uranus from this occultations. Last, we discuss how these and future occultations may impact efforts to use a technology called aerocapture as part of a potential mission to Uranus.
NASA feature story about our campaign: https://www.nasa.gov/general/planetary-alignment-provides-nasa-rare-opportunity-to-study-uranus/.
Our team page: https://science.larc.nasa.gov/URANUS2025.
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