n there, swathed in an immense blanket of air. Like the other gas giants, Uranus has bands of clouds that blow around rapidly. However, they are extremely faint, visible only with radical image enhancement of the Voyager 2 pictures. Recent observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope show larger and more pronounced streaks. In the past two years the speculation has been that the difference is due to seasonal effects. The speed of the winds on Uranus is changing, and while that is not exciting for a person inhabiting the Earth and used to its changeable weather, the news is noteworthy for a gas giant. The winds of Jupiter and Saturn have remained constant over time. The winds of Uranus blow at velocities of 40 to 160 meters per second (90 to 360 mph); whereas on Earth, jet streams in the atmosphere only blow at about 50 meters per second (110 mph). Astronomers are excited that these observations could foreshadow dramatic atmospheric changes in the future. Compared with recent pictures from space, black and white drawings of Uranus - rendered by visual astronomers in the early 1900's - "depict a vastly different planet, decorated with bright, broad bands, and even the hint of something that might be a great spot." (Flanagan, 56) Significantly, they were drawn at a time when Uranus was between its solstice and its equinox, the same phase the planet is approaching now.There is more to the puzzling features of Uranus than changing winds. Data from Voyager 2 indicates that Uranus' magnetic field is not centered on the midway point of the planet and is tilted at nearly 60 degrees with respect to the axis of rotation. The magnetic field of Uranus - which is roughly comparable to that of Earth's - is not produced by an iron core like other planets. The magnetic field source is unknown; the electrically conductive, super-pressurized ocean of water and ammonia once thought to lie between the core and the atmosphere now appears t...
