Uranus experiences significant cooling as solar wind pressure declines

Uranus is experiencing a significant cooling of its upper atmosphere, with temperatures dropping by half since the Voyager 2 flyby in 1986. This cooling is unique to Uranus, as other planets have not shown similar changes. New research indicates that the solar wind, a stream of charged particles from the Sun, is responsible for this temperature decline. Since 1990, the solar wind's pressure has decreased, which correlates with the cooling of Uranus' thermosphere. These findings may influence future missions to Uranus, such as the proposed Uranus Orbiter and Probe, which aims to study the planet's atmosphere. The research also suggests that similar cooling mechanisms could affect exoplanets with large magnetospheres.