Astronomers find Neptune's disappearing clouds linked to solar cycle

Astronomers using data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories have uncovered a link between Neptune's disappearing clouds and the Sun's 11-year solar cycle, reported Xinhua.

The link between Neptune and solar activity is surprising to planetary scientists because Neptune is solar system's farthest major planet and receives sunlight with about 0.1 percent of the intensity Earth receives, according to NASA.

Yet Neptune's global cloudy weather seems to be driven by solar activity, and not the planet's four seasons, which each last approximately 40 years, according to NASA.