Uranus tagged posts

The interior structure of Uranus is illustrated. Credit: MIPT Press office

The depths of Uranus, Neptune and their satellites may contain extraordinary compounds, such as Carbonic and Orthocarbonic acids (aka Hitler’s acid). These gas giants consist mainly of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, which are the 3 cornerstones of organic chemistry. Using computer modeling, chemists from MIPT and Skoltech found at high pressures, typical for the interiors of such planets, exotic molecular and polymeric compounds are formed. “We have found that at a pressure of several million atmospheres unexpected compounds should form in their interiors. The cores of these planets may largely consist of these exotic materials,” says Prof. Artem Oganov.

A team led by Professor Oganov developed the world’s most univer...

Arriving at Uranus in 1986, Voyager 2 observed a bluish orb with extremely subtle features. A haze layer hid most of the planet’s cloud features from view. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Humanity has visited Uranus only once, 30 yrs ago. NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft got its closest look at the distant, gaseous planet on Jan. 24, 1986. Voyager 2 sent back stunning images of the planet and its moons during a flyby of 5.5 hrs of close study. It got within 50,600 miles of Uranus, the coldest planet in our solar system, though not the farthest from the sun, It has no internal heat source. Atmosphere of Uranus is 85% hydrogen and 15% helium. There was also evidence of a boiling ocean ~500 miles below the cloud tops.

Scientists found that Uranus has a magnetic field different from any they had ever enco...