“The latest study by NASA
It suggests that what we knew about Uranus may have been wrong all along.”
In 1986, Voyager 2 flew by the outer planet and collected data for just a few weeks. However, Uranus has been proven to be a giant ice planet. There seems to be some confusion.
That is called a strong magnetosphere, which goes against the knowledge of scientists about how magnetic fields work. Since then Uranus is also considered to be a completely unique outer planet, which has deceived researchers for almost 40 years without anyone suspecting it.
However, a team of researchers from NASA decided to review the data to see if they really had missed something. Who was right for them. New research published in the journal Nature Astronomy suggests that Voyager 2 was a bit ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’.
“If Voyager 2 had arrived just a few days earlier, the spacecraft will observe a completely different magnetosphere at Uranus,” said Dr. Jamie Jasiniski of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with Uranus in it the condition that only has a 4% chance of occurring.”
Exploring Uranus and anomalies
Since the beginning of the age of space exploration, mankind has sent several spacecraft to explore the moon. There have been more than 50 missions to Mars and Mars, but only one of Uranus and Neptune, Voyager 2, has flown by and provided a few close-up images. In addition, it was at a time that was not very good, which caused the information to be very inaccurate. magnetosphere
put it simply magnetosphere The magnetosphere is a large magnetic field around a planet full of energetic particles that move around it like ‘bubbles’.
The magnetic fields that cover these planets protect them from cosmic rays and solar particles. These threats can tear our DNA apart, and without them no life would survive on the surface of a star. But Uranus’ magnetosphere is different.
Uranus returns with intense magnetos, in other words, a radiation belt so intense that it is nicknamed “the magnetosphere”. “The magnetosphere is second only to Jupiter’s ‘brutal’ radiation belts in intensity.” However, there is a big problem. Where do these high energy particles come from?
This is because there are no sources around Uranus that can produce these things. There are only five moons around Uranus, which is not enough to create a magnetosphere with such a high density of particles. It became a mystical anomaly. But as scientists began to look at solar storms, the picture began to make sense.
“We are still searching for an explanation for this unusual behavior,” said JPL scientist Linda Spilker “This new report helps explain some of the apparent contradictions.” And it will change our view of Uranus again.”
The real reason is the stronger solar wind. Ejected from the Sun’s outer layer (corona), this intensity creates a pressure approximately 20 times higher than normal, injecting high-energy particles into the stellar radiation belt. It became a very intense magnetosphere and Voyager went into that. causing an inaccurate picture that Uranus has a thin magnetosphere filled with a high concentration of solar particles.
“The flyby occurred at the highest intensity of the solar wind over eight months,” said Dr Jacinski.
Capable of supporting life
This leads scientists to believe that Uranus has the potential to support life due to its normal magnetosphere. Or at least the moons of the planet are possible too, because of Titania and Oberon. That is also within the radius of the ‘bubble’.
“These findings suggest that the Uranus system may be much more interesting than previously thought,” said Dr. William Dunn from University College London. “There may be a subsurface ocean full of fish.”
And the fact that Uranus has a normal magnetosphere makes it easier to study by spacecraft. Especially looking for important signs such as water. There is still a lot of research to be done and more information to come. This is because we have only recently begun to seriously explore the outer planets.
“Future Uranus missions are essential for understanding Not only planets and the magnetosphere. but also the atmosphere, rings and moon of Uranus,” said Dr Jacinski.
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Witit Borompichaichartkul
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