Uranian weather watch

Detecting clouds on Uranus usually requires time on the Keck telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, or the Hubble Space Telescope. But these instruments are hugely oversubscribed and can only be used for such observations a few times a year. Now a 35-centimetre telescope operated by students is doing the job instead. The instrument detects changes in the planet’s overall brightness, allowing accurate estimates of cloud cover to be made. The data should help planetary scientists fine-tune their models of the planet’s atmosphere.