\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJune\u2019s Night Sky Notes: Seasons of the Solar System\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.science.nasa.gov\/dynamicimage\/assets\/science\/missions\/hubble\/releases\/2023\/03\/STScI-01GV3GGDCZ8FXYAF6HP5FETRGA.tif?w=2760&h=1388&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nTwo views of the planet Uranus appear side-by-side for comparison. At the top, left corner of the left image is a two-line label. The top line reads Uranus November 9, 2014. The bottoms line reads HST WFC3\/UVIS. At the top, left corner of the right image is the label November 9, 2022. At the left, bottom corner of each image is a small, horizontal, white line. In both panels, over this line is the value 25,400 miles. Below the line is the value 40,800 kilometers. At the top, right corner of the right image are three, colored labels representing the color filters used to make these pictures. Located on three separate lines, these are F467M in blue, F547M in green, and F485M in red. On the bottom, right corner of the right image are compass arrows showing north toward the top and east toward the left.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredits: <\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nby Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific<\/em><\/p>\nHere on Earth, we undergo a changing of seasons every three months. But what about the rest of the Solar System? What does a sunny day on Mars look like? How long would a winter on Neptune be? Let\u2019s take a tour of some other planets and ask ourselves what seasons might look like there.<\/p>\n
Martian Autumn<\/h3>\n
Although Mars and Earth have nearly identical axial tilts, a year on Mars lasts 687 Earth days (nearly 2 Earth years) due to its average distance of 142 million miles from the Sun, making it late autumn on the red planet. This distance and a thin atmosphere make it less than perfect sweater weather. A recent weather report from Gale Crater boasted a high of -18 degrees Fahrenheit for the week of May 20, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/assets.science.nasa.gov\/dynamicimage\/assets\/science\/psd\/mars\/downloadable_items\/3\/9\/39253_Mars-Orbit-Year-Seasons-winter-spring-summer-autumn-aphelion-perihelion.jpg?w=860&h=389&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nCredit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSeven Years of Summer<\/h3>\n
Saturn has a 27-degree tilt, very similar to the 25-degree tilt of Mars and the 23-degree tilt of Earth. But that is where the similarities end. With a 29-year orbit, a single season on the ringed planet lasts seven years. While we can\u2019t experience a Saturnian season<\/a>, we can observe a ring plane crossing<\/a> here on Earth instead. The most recent plane crossing took place in March 2025, allowing us to see Saturn\u2019s rings \u2018disappear\u2019 from view.<\/p>\nA Lifetime of Spring<\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"Springtime](\"https:\/\/assets.science.nasa.gov\/dynamicimage\/assets\/science\/missions\/hubble\/releases\/2003\/05\/STScI-01EVVJQ2WC3EPGAMRY4EDJX2PP.jpg?w=3000&h=2400&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nNASA Hubble Space Telescope observations in August 2002 show that Neptune\u2019s brightness has increased significantly since 1996. The rise is due to an increase in the amount of clouds observed in the planet\u2019s southern hemisphere. These increases may be due to seasonal changes caused by a variation in solar heating. Because Neptune\u2019s rotation axis is inclined 29 degrees to its orbital plane, it is subject to seasonal solar heating during its 164.8-year orbit of the Sun. This seasonal variation is 900 times smaller than experienced by Earth because Neptune is much farther from the Sun. The rate of seasonal change also is much slower because Neptune takes 165 years to orbit the Sun. So, springtime in the southern hemisphere will last for several decades! Remarkably, this is evidence that Neptune is responding to the weak radiation from the Sun. These images were taken in visible and near-infrared light by Hubble\u2019s Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2.<\/div>\nCredit: NASA, L. Sromovsky, and P. Fry (University of Wisconsin-Madison)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nEven further away from the Sun, each season on Neptune lasts over 40 years. Although changes are slower and less dramatic than on Earth, scientists have observed seasonal activity in Neptune\u2019s atmosphere. These images<\/a> were taken between 1996 and 2002 with the Hubble Space Telescope, with brightness in the southern hemisphere indicating seasonal change.<\/p>\nAs we welcome summer here on Earth, you can build a Suntrack<\/a> model that helps demonstrate the path the Sun takes through the sky during the seasons. You can find even more fun activities and resources like this model on NASA\u2019s Wavelength and Energy<\/a> activity.\u00a0<\/p>\nPowered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\nGet The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Here on Earth, we undergo a changing of seasons every three months. But what about the rest of the Solar System? What does a sunny day on Mars look like? How long would a winter on Neptune be? Let\u2019s take a tour of some other [\u2026] Continue reading
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific<\/em><\/p>\n Here on Earth, we undergo a changing of seasons every three months. But what about the rest of the Solar System? What does a sunny day on Mars look like? How long would a winter on Neptune be? Let\u2019s take a tour of some other planets and ask ourselves what seasons might look like there.<\/p>\n Although Mars and Earth have nearly identical axial tilts, a year on Mars lasts 687 Earth days (nearly 2 Earth years) due to its average distance of 142 million miles from the Sun, making it late autumn on the red planet. This distance and a thin atmosphere make it less than perfect sweater weather. A recent weather report from Gale Crater boasted a high of -18 degrees Fahrenheit for the week of May 20, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n Saturn has a 27-degree tilt, very similar to the 25-degree tilt of Mars and the 23-degree tilt of Earth. But that is where the similarities end. With a 29-year orbit, a single season on the ringed planet lasts seven years. While we can\u2019t experience a Saturnian season<\/a>, we can observe a ring plane crossing<\/a> here on Earth instead. The most recent plane crossing took place in March 2025, allowing us to see Saturn\u2019s rings \u2018disappear\u2019 from view.<\/p>\n Even further away from the Sun, each season on Neptune lasts over 40 years. Although changes are slower and less dramatic than on Earth, scientists have observed seasonal activity in Neptune\u2019s atmosphere. These images<\/a> were taken between 1996 and 2002 with the Hubble Space Telescope, with brightness in the southern hemisphere indicating seasonal change.<\/p>\n As we welcome summer here on Earth, you can build a Suntrack<\/a> model that helps demonstrate the path the Sun takes through the sky during the seasons. You can find even more fun activities and resources like this model on NASA\u2019s Wavelength and Energy<\/a> activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Here on Earth, we undergo a changing of seasons every three months. But what about the rest of the Solar System? What does a sunny day on Mars look like? How long would a winter on Neptune be? Let\u2019s take a tour of some other [\u2026] Continue reading Martian Autumn<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/figure>Seven Years of Summer<\/h3>\n
A Lifetime of Spring<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/figure>