Uranus, the seventh planet in the solar system, is an icy giant surrounded by rings and about four times the size of Earth. It is a widely unknown star that no space mission has yet visited, with the exception of the Voyager 2 probe which flew over it in 1986 and has since. It has helped to reveal a few secrets such as the existence of two additional rings (we knew 9 before its passage and today there are 13), 11 new moons and many other special features. Thirty years after its passage scientists have re-examined the data of the probe and discovered a final secret.
A huge plasma bubble …
As they write in the review, it appears that Voyager 2 flew near Uranus through a plasmoid, a huge magnetic bubble containing plasma that could have propelled part of Uranus’ atmosphere into the air. ‘space. Atmospheric loss is common for planets in the solar system: Mars, Jupiter, Venus and even the Earth lose matter in space. The process is very slow but it can radically change the appearance of the planet. The proof with Mars which was formerly wet with a thick atmosphere and which was transformed into desert in a little more than 3 billion years.
–
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Two views of Uranus obtained by the Keck telescope. Credit: Lawrence Sromovsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison / W.W. Keck Observatory“data-reactid =” 26 “>Two views of Uranus obtained by the Keck telescope. Credit: Lawrence Sromovsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison / W.W. Keck Observatory
Planetary magnetic fields play a major role in these planetary leakage processes. They can constitute, as for the Earth, a shield which hijacks the particles of the Sun which scour the atmosphere. But they can also, it is the case for Saturn and Jupiter, create corridors by which the atmosphere escapes when the lines of the magnetic field intertwine. Anyway, to understand how atmospheres change, scientists pay particular attention to the dynamics of these magnetic fields. […]
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Read more on sciencesetavenir.fr“data-reactid =” 28 “>Read more on sciencesetavenir.fr
Read also
–
