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 .