Uranus Might Have Experienced a Freak Event

Voyager 2 is the only craft to visit Uranus. Its findings may have misled us for 40 years.
But when Voyager 2 got an up-close look at Uranus in 1986, scientists were able to glean some insights that, while confounding, at least shed some light on a crucial characteristic that seemed to set the planet apart from other giants like Jupiter.
Uranus Might Have Experienced a Freak Event When Voyager 2 Visited
Much of the understanding of the seventh planet comes from a brief flyby nearly 40 years ago, which researchers now say overlapped with an exceptional solar event.
Uranus may have looked weird when NASA’s Voyager 2 flew by
A solar wind event days before the NASA probe flyby in 1986 may have compressed the planet’s magnetosphere, making it look odder than it usually is.
Something Strange Happened During Voyager 2’s Flyby of Uranus in 1986
When Voyager 2 flew past the ice giant 38 years ago, it revealed a magnetosphere warped by solar winds, a finding uncovered through recent analysis of archival data.
Strange Anomaly in 1986 May Have Warped Our Perception of Uranus
This has informed how we think about Uranus ever since, making the planet's history a mystery scientists have been working to solve. There's just one problem, says space plasma physicist Jamie Jasinski of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology: Uranus's magnetic field probably isn't hinky most of the time.
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1986 NASA probe gave us the wrong impression of Uranus — until now
When Voyager 2 performed the first and only close flyby of Uranus in 1986, scientists were left scratching their heads. Now, ...
New Uranus research suggests what’s known about the planet could be wrong
A solar wind event squashed the protective bubble around Uranus just before Voyager 2 flew by the planet in 1986, shifting ...
Almost Everything We Know About Planet Uranus May Be Wrong
"The Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus in 1986 revealed an unusually oblique and off-centred magnetic field," the researchers wrote.
Uranus, the ice giant, may have been misunderstood for nearly 40 years
A rare solar wind event was taking place when NASA’s Voyager 2 zipped by in 1986, a study suggests, which affected what we ...
Scientists uncover a magnetic misunderstanding about Uranus
In 1781, German-born British astronomer William Herschel made Uranus the first planet discovered with the aid of a telescope.
NASA Takes A Deep Dive Into Uranus And Solves Gassy Giant's Hidden Secrets
New data analysis suggests if Voyager 2 had arrived just a few days earlier, it would have observed something completely ...
7 captivating images of Uranus captured by NASA
Uranus is unique as it rotates on its side, at roughly a 90-degree angle from the plane of its orbit. The planet takes 84 years to orbit the Sun. An animated GIF showing Uranus' magnetic field. The ...
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Long ago, Voyager 2 might have caught Uranus at a bad time
Much of what we understand about Uranus comes from data gathered by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft. Thirty-eight years ago, this ...
New Uranus Research Suggests All We Knew About Planet Could Be Wrong
Scientists gathered much of the knowledge about Uranus after NASA's robotic spacecraft conducted a five-day flyby in 1986.
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Moon named "Miranda" orbiting Uranus seems to have an ocean and possibly life
A recent study points to an exciting possibility: that Uranus's moon Miranda, located in the far reaches of our solar system, ...
Uranus and its moons may have ideal conditions for life—but Voyager 2 missed it due to one bad day
New analysis of Voyager 2 data suggests that a solar storm may have skewed our understanding of Uranus and its moons.
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We’ve Only Been To Uranus Once And The Freak Timing May Have Misled Us For Years
Voyager 2’s visit to Uranus in 1986 occurred just after the planet was slammed by an exceptionally powerful solar outburst.