Uranus isn’t just distant and icy – it’s also one of the weirdest planets in our solar system. A new study based on 20 years of Hubble images peels back the layers of its pale atmosphere and extreme seasons.
Out of all the planets in our solar system, Uranus remains the most misunderstood due to its distance from Earth, around two billion miles, and its peculiar tilt.
However, a new study led by researchers from the University of Arizona and partners studied images captured by NASA's Hubble Telescope taken from 2002-2022.
The study found that the atmosphere of Uranus is mostly made of hydrogen and helium.
Furthermore, the methane in the atmosphere absorbs red waves from sunlight, meaning the blue and green light is reflected back into space, hence giving the planet its color.
Traces of water and ammonia have also been found.
Unorthodox seasons
Uranus is tilted at almost 98 degrees, most likely as a result of a collision with an Earth-sized object, which is estimated to have happened four billion years ago during the early formation of the solar system.
This means that each pole receives approximately 42 years of sunlight, followed by 42 years of darkness. It is currently in the midst of its northern spring season, projected to continue until 2028.
Hubble only managed to get a snapshot of this seasonal quirk across the two decades.
The scientists have committed themselves to continuing to observe Uranus and the seasonal changes in the polar regions.
Other striking information includes the fact that Uranus has 13 rings going around it and 28 moons.
The rings are dark and narrow, in contrast to Saturn's bright ones. Meanwhile, some of the moons are named after Shakespeare and Alexander Pope characters – Titania, Oberon, Miranda, and Umbriel, for example.
Uranus' moons orbit in the planet’s equatorial plane, which, because of the planet’s sideways tilt, means they follow a strange corkscrew path around the Sun.
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