Scientists of the Geology Institute of Georgia (USA) made a unique discovery. In their view, Uranus is the only planet in the solar system that rotates “lying on its side.”
According to the press service of the Institute, the discovery was made after the study of the images of Uranus, transferred to the ground by the research satellite Voyager 2. The ship flew past the seventh planet of the Solar System back in January 1986. Then, for more than 30 years, scientists have tried to unravel the mystery of Uranus from the pictures.
The researchers were puzzled by the fact that the position of the poles on Uranus changes every 18 hours, and the magnetic poles are shifted by 60 degrees relative to the axis of the planet (an imaginary line connecting the poles).
American researchers believe that this riddle was finally solved. Uranium rotates as if “lying on its side.”
“Uranus is a geometric nightmare” – The magnetosphere of this planet “opens” and “closes” for a solar wind for several hours. No other planet of the solar system has such properties, “- commented on the results of the study, one of its co-authors Carol Pati.
