Uranus’s wind problem could be good for humanity

Scientists think they have got Uranus all wrong.

Astronomers have been studying it long and hard, and suggest what they have believed for the last 40 years might not be true. 

The ringed world and its five biggest moons might not be dead and sterile, but instead could have oceans, with the moons possibly capable of supporting life. 

As Uranus is so far away, much of what we know about it stems from information gathered by Nasa’s Voyager 2 spacecraft. 

In January 1986, one half of the twin spacecraft zoomed past Uranus and got a grand tour. In its five hour flyby, Voyager 2 found that Uranus is very weird. 

As the spacecraft provided scientists with its first and only glimpse of Uranus so far, there were some unexpected findings. It turns out, Uranus is practically on its side which makes it distinct from the other planets in the solar system. 

But it also seems that Uranus and its orbiting moons were inactive, unlike the other celestial objects in the outer solar system. 

The researchers revealed that Uranus’s protective magnetic field was distorted, and seemed wonky and weak, being squashed and pushed away from the Sun. 

Usually, a planet’s magnetic field traps any gases and other material coming off the planets and the moons, which might be from oceans or geological activity. 

However, Voyager 2 found none, which surprised astronomers as it seemed like Uranus and its five largest moons were sterile and inactive. 

But a new paper, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, thinks it has cracked Uranus’s mystery. 

The new research suggests that just as Voyager 2 flew past Uranus, it was met with powerful solar wind and bringing with it very rare conditions.

Experts think that as the Sun was raging, it likely squashed the planet’s magnetic bubble. This pushed all the plasma out of it and its intensified radiation belts – areas of charged particles trapped on magnetic field line. 

This means Uranus’s material may have been blown away, and had a temporary distorted magnetic field. 

The new findings suggest that the planet and its moons could be geologically active after all and, combined with other recent discoveries, may also have oceans.

Co-author Dr William Dunn said: ‘Almost everything we know about Uranus is based on Voyager 2’s two-day flyby. 

‘This new study shows that a lot of the planet’s bizarre behaviour can be explained by the scale of the space weather event that occurred during that visit.

‘We now know even less than we thought about what a typical day in the Uranian system might look like.

‘A big piece of evidence against there being oceans on Uranus’s moons was the lack of detection of any water-related particles around the planet – Voyager 2 didn’t find water ions. 

‘But now we can explain that: the solar storm basically would have blown all that material away.’

Speaking to the BBC, Dr Dunn revealed the possibilities of what is on Uranus is endless. He said: ‘These results suggest that the Uranian system could be much more exciting than previously thought.

‘There could be moons there that could have the conditions that are necessary for life, they might have oceans that below the surface that could be teeming with fish!’

Now, experts reckon they need to visit Uranus again for a proper look. This would require a second spacecraft to visit the planet in order to find out more about it.

Lead author Dr Jamie Jasinski of Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said: ‘If Voyager 2 had arrived just a few days earlier, it would have observed a completely different magnetosphere at Uranus.

‘The spacecraft saw Uranus in conditions that only occur about 4% of the time.’

Nasa wants to visit Uranus again, and plans to launch a new mission, the Uranus Orbiter and Probe, to go back for a closer look in 10 years’ time.

Nasa’s Uranus probe is expected to arrive by 2045, when researchers hope to find out if these far out icy worlds might have the possibility of being home to life.