Uranus

11 Stories

Newly Discovered Uranus Moon Is Remarkably Small

You could walk across it in 2 hours

(Newser) - Astronomers have spotted a tiny new moon orbiting Uranus—so small you could walk around it in roughly two hours, reports NBC News . Spotted by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in February, the new satellite is only about six miles wide, which might explain why it was not...

A Day at Uranus Just Got 28 Seconds Longer

Hubble: It's 17 hours, 14 minutes, and 52 seconds, which exceeds what Voyager 2 told us in the '80s

(Newser) - A day at Uranus just got a little longer. As the AP reports, scientists reported Monday that observations by the Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed it takes Uranus 17 hours, 14 minutes, and 52 seconds to complete a full rotation. That's 28 seconds longer than estimates by NASA's...

'Major Mysteries' of Uranus Explained
'Major Mysteries'
of Uranus Explained
NEW STUDY
Nov 11, 2024 5:02 PM CST

'Major Mysteries' of Uranus Explained

1986 Voyager 2 flyby observed planet at a very unusual time, researchers say

(Newser) - Uranus has only been visited by a spacecraft once—and Voyager 2 "arrived at just the wrong time," says Jamie Jasinski, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Jasinski is the lead author of a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy that suggests the 1986...

Neptune, Uranus Are Almost the Same Color
Neptune Isn't the Color
Many People Think It Is
NEW STUDY
Jan 5, 2024 10:59 AM CST

Neptune Isn't the Color Many People Think It Is

It's a pale color almost identical to Uranus, not deep blue, researchers say

(Newser) - The bluest planet in the solar system is the one you're currently on, according to new research. Researchers say that when images of Neptune were made from data sent back by NASA's Voyager 2 in the 1980s, the planet was depicted as deep blue to enhance contrast and...

'Planet Collectors,' This Is Your Week

5 planets—Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, and Mars—will be lining up, with best viewing Tuesday

(Newser) - Keep an eye to the sky this week for a chance to see a planetary hangout. Five planets—Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, and Mars—will line up near the moon, per the AP . More details:
  • Where and when can you see them? The best day to catch the whole group
...

We Won't See a Moon Like Tuesday's for 2-Plus Years

Blood moon caused by total lunar eclipse is set for Election Day

(Newser) - Better catch the moon's disappearing act Tuesday—there won't be another like it for more than two years. The total lunar eclipse will be visible throughout North America in the predawn hour—the farther west, the better—and across Asia, Australia, and the rest of the Pacific after...

Uranus Tops Scientists' Space 'Wish List'
Scientists Urge
NASA to
Explore
Uranus
THE RUNDOWN
Apr 20, 2022 2:34 AM CDT

Scientists Urge NASA to Explore Uranus

It tops the 'wish list' of an influential panel

(Newser) - An influential panel of scientists says NASA should put exploration of Uranus at the top of its to-do list. The US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) made the recommendation in its report on "the next decade of planetary science and astrobiology." The only visit thus...

Uranus Discovery Fulfills Cosmic Punchline

Clouds smell like rotten eggs thanks to smelly gas hydrogen sulfide

(Newser) - Scientists using the huge telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano have discovered the world's most obvious space joke. "Uranus smells like farts" is an actual, and correct, headline making the rounds, as here and here . But as the BBC explains, it's no joke. It seems the...

Scientists Found Something Surprising Near Uranus

The gas giant may have two small, undiscovered moons

(Newser) - Scientists are taking a closer look at Uranus after strange patterns turned up in images from 30 years ago. Engadget reports that researchers looking at data from NASA's Voyager 2—which became the only spacecraft ever to fly by Uranus when it did so in 1986—noticed that the...

Solar System May Have Ejected Mystery Planet: Scientist
 Solar System 
 Kicked Out 
 Extra Planet 
scientist says
Sep 26, 2011 6:09 PM CDT

Solar System Kicked Out Extra Planet

Early ejection may have helped Earth survive

(Newser) - Thank your lucky stars that our solar system was only big enough for eight planets. Apparently a ninth one—and a gas giant, no less—was nudged out billions of years ago and made room for Earth to survive. In computer simulations of our solar system's evolution, Colorado scientist...

'Ocean of Diamond' May Shimmer on Neptune, Uranus

Molten diamond experiment suggests that liquid space bling abounds

(Newser) - Vast oceans of liquid diamond with icebergs of solid diamond floating on the surface may exist on Uranus and Neptune. Scientists melting diamonds—which requires incredibly high pressure as well as temperatures—were surprised to discover that it behaves much like water in its molten state and believe that could...

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