uranus

Latest about uranus

Uranus is uniquely tipped over among the planets in our solar system. Uranus' moons and rings are also orientated this way, suggesting they formed during a cataclysmic impact which tipped it over early in its history.

What smacked Uranus on its side? Something icy and as massive as Earth, scientists say.

By Mike Wall published

Astronomers have worked out details of the giant impact that knocked Uranus so famously askew.

Uranus
An animation shows the strange magnetic field of Uranus. The yellow arrow points toward the sun and the dark blue arrow represents the planet's axis.

Old gas blob from Uranus found in vintage Voyager 2 data

By Meghan Bartels published

Buried inside data Voyager 2 gathered at Uranus more than 30 years ago is the signature of a massive bubble that may have stolen a blob of the planet's gassy atmosphere.

Uranus
Something mysterious is going on inside the ice giant Neptune.

There's Something Strange Going On Inside Neptune

By David Crookes, All About Space magazine published

Neptune is warmer than Uranus and astronomers are trying to figure out why.

Neptune
In this composite image, the heat from the rings around Uranus can be seen. The dark bands in the planet’s atmosphere indicate radiolight-absorbing molecules such as hydrogen sulfied, while the bright areas contain very few of these molecules.

Uranus Is a Weirdo — And So Are Its Rings

By Jeanna Bryner published

New images of the icy planet's rings reveal some surprises.

Uranus
Solar System objects

10 Interesting Places in the Solar System We'd Like to Visit

By Adam Mann published

Counting down the weirdest spots in our cosmic backyard.

Astronomy
Uranus

How Did Uranus End Up On Its Side?

By Jacob Kegerreis published

A body at least twice as massive as the Earth smashing into Uranus could have made it lopsided, shows research.

Uranus
blueberry earth

14 Most Bizarre Scientific Discoveries of 2018

By Adam Mann published

2018 was a weird one in science, from boiling bats to blueberry Earth.

Planet Earth
Methane in the atmosphere gives Uranus its blue hue, as seen in this image from the Keck telescope from 2004.

No Joke: Uranus Smells Terrible, Study Says

By Stephanie Pappas published

The upper cloud tops of Uranus are shot through with hydrogen sulfide, the gas that smells of rotten eggs.

Uranus
superionic water setup

This Ice Is Nearly As Hot As the Sun. Scientists Have Now Made It on Earth.

By Elizabeth Howell published

For the first time, researchers re-created the high-pressure water ice likely found in the interiors of Uranus and Neptune.

Astronomy
Neptune cutaway graphic

Icy Planets' Diamond Rain Created in Laser Laboratory

By Charles Q. Choi published

"Diamond rain" that may shower through the layers of Neptune and Uranus has been created in a laboratory for the first time, according to a new study.

Planets
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