The ice giant’s rotation causes daily expansion and contraction of the boundary where its magnetic field slows the solar wind.
Uranus
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Speedy Particles That Could Help Us Learn More About Uranus
New simulations suggest that a spacecraft-mounted detector of energetic neutral atoms could improve our understanding of the ice giant’s environment, as well as the relationship between the planet, its magnetosphere, and the heliosphere.
Posted inNews
Uranus’s Small Moons Are Dark, Red, and Water-Poor
…Except for Mab, which is even weirder than expected.
Posted inNews
Tiny Uranian Moon Likely Had a Massive Subsurface Ocean
Ariel’s tempestuous subsurface ocean may have once composed more than half its total volume.
Posted inNews
Straightening Out Uranus’s Magnetosphere
New analysis of Voyager 2 observations shows that the craft arrived amid gusty solar wind, muddying our ideas about the giant planet.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Investigating Origins of CO2 Ice on Uranian Moons
A new study investigates the role of volatile migration in the unique Uranian thermal environment.
Posted inScience Updates
A Mission to Uranus Requires a Community-Building Effort on Earth
Planning the first mission to Uranus since the 1980s offers an opportunity to build a diverse, interdisciplinary team that spans generations.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Studying the Mystery of Uranus’s Curiously Weak Radiation Belts
The belts may not be weak at all—instead, they may be simply changing speed thanks to the planet’s asymmetric magnetic field.
Posted inFeatures
Uranus: Time to Boldly Go
Scientists say now is the time to unlock the secrets of Uranus and suggest a low-cost, low-risk way to do so.
Posted inNews
A Mission to Uranus Could Help Find Planet 9
Narrowing down the search is essential for gaining time on a high-powered telescope that could spot the hypothesized planet directly.