Uranus is considered to be the weirdest planet among the eight planets in the solar system. It flips 98 degrees in its axis, and its magnetic shield constantly rotates.
Voyager 2 first flew near Uranus in 1986 and discovered the eccentric features of the planet. Earlier this year, scientists discovered that it also releases gas into space.
Then just recently, research published in the Journal of Geophysical Research that modeled Uranus and its magnetosphere revealed that solar winds could enter the magnetosphere and blow through it when the planet is at the correct angle. These observations seem to have proved the findings of Voyager 2 several decades ago.
However, the scientists said that further research is needed to confirm the findings.
Uranus Leaks Gas at Least Once a Day
Uranus is unlike any other planets in the Solar System, with its most distinguishable feature is rotating at a roughly 98-degree angle. Scientists believe that an impact in the past must have made Uranus like that.
BGR reported that based on the models of Uranus and its magnetosphere, the new study suggests that the solar winds streaming from the Sun enters and flows through the magnetosphere rather than flows around the planet.
The magnetosphere of Uranus is a bubble-like shield that surrounds the planet and rotates approximately 60 degrees off the planet's rotational axis. The strange combination allows the outflow of particles from the Sun to enter the magnetosphere, but scientists said that it is not a constant flow.
According to them, they used a numerical model to simulate the global magnetosphere of Uranus and to predict potentially favorable reconnection locations to examine the coupling mechanism between the magnetosphere and solar wind.
They theorize that there is a 'switch-like' magnetosphere in Uranus during the equinox and solstice season of the planet. It is where the planetary rotation drives the interchange between an open magnetosphere and a closed magnetosphere of each Uranus day.
Furthermore, the researchers predict that this periodic reconnection happens upstream of the magnetosphere, wherein the frequency corresponds to the planetary rotation that happens once every 17 hours and 24 minutes.
Observations Support the Discovery of Voyager 2 Decades Ago
That unique combination may also have other effects, according to the team. These effects include the possibility that the flow of particles produces an aurora similar to Earth's that might be visible in the skies of Uranus.
However, it is difficult to confirm these findings because this frosty planet is very far from Earth. Additionally, it is also farther from the Sun than Earth.
The observations being used today are also too old coming from decades ago during the time Voyager 2 passed by this frosty planet in the Solar System on its way out.
But based on the new study, its findings bout the planet and its magnetosphere and the solar winds that enter it appear to have confirmed the observations made by Voyager 2. The data seems to line up from decades ago to this new study, although scientists are unsure how accurate these findings are without conducting further observation campaigns.
Read also: Uranus
