Neptune’s Disappearing Clouds Linked to the Solar Cycle

Recent observations from the Hubble Space Telescope show that Neptune’s clouds are almost completely disappearing! Astronomers report that their continual monitoring of Neptune’s weather uncovered a link between its shifting cloud abundance and the 11-year solar cycle, where the Sun’s activity waxes and wanes under the driving force of its entangled magnetic field. At present, the cloud coverage seen on Neptune is extremely low, with the exception of some clouds hovering over the giant planet’s south pole. A team of astronomers discovered that the abundance of clouds normally seen at the icy giant’s mid-latitudes started to fade in 2019. For more information, visit Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Paul Morris: Lead Producer Music Credit: “Outer Rim” by Brandon Seliga [BMI] via Emperia Beta Publishing [BMI] and Universal Production Music Image Credit: Image of Lick Observatory, credit UC Santa Cruz This video can be freely shared and downloaded at While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, the music and some individual imagery may have been obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on such imagery may be found here: For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit See more Hubble videos on YouTube: Follow NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope: · Facebook: · X: · Instagram: · Flickr: --- If you liked this video, subscribe to the NASA Goddard YouTube channel: Follow NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center · Instagram · X · X · Facebook: · Flickr