The planet is on its side. What happened to Uranus in the past

The planet is on its side. What happened to Uranus in the past

Uranus is considered the most mysterious planet in the solar system. It was possible to reach this world only once in 1986 with the help of the Voyager-2 spacecraft. The main oddity is that the planet rotates almost on its side.

While the other worlds rotate almost “vertically”, and their axes of rotation are at right angles to the orbital paths around the star, the slope of Uranus is almost straight. As a result, in the summer its north pole looks directly at the sun disk. In addition, the rest of the giant planets have rings around themselves in a horizontal position, while in Uranus the rings and the lunar family are vertical.

The planet is on its side. What happened to Uranus in the past

Satellites and rings of Uranus

Also, the ice giant has an unusually low temperature index and a crumpled magnetic field that is offset from the center. It is believed that before Uranus was not different from the solar planets, but then overturned. What happened?

Collision in the past

Previously, the solar system was a more rigid environment, where protoplanets crashed into each other and helped shape modern planets. Many scientists believe that the state of Uranus is the result of a dramatic collision in the past. Therefore, the researchers decided to understand how this could happen.

Unfortunately, scientists are not able to create two planets in the laboratory and push them to see the process with their own eyes. Therefore, it is necessary to apply computer models that simulate an event.

The planet is on its side. What happened to Uranus in the past

Axial tilt of Uranus

The main idea was to recreate a planetary collision involving multiple particles that mimic planetary material. Here, equations based on physical laws are also taken into account. As a result, the complex results of a giant collision are created. In addition, researchers get complete control and can consider various scenarios. The new model showed that a large object (at least twice as large as the Earth’s mass) could be responsible for the strange rotation of modern Uranus if it crashed into the young world and merged with it. In the event of a stronger collision, the material of the shock object will settle to a thin hot shell at the edge of the giant ice layer, under a hydrogen and helium atmosphere.

This will prevent material from merging in the center of the planet. Everything suggests that the idea corresponds to the observed cold outer layer of the giant. Thermal evolution is a complex topic. But now it’s clear how a big blow can change the planet inside and out.

Computer Computing

The planet is on its side. What happened to Uranus in the past

A dark spot captured by the Hubble telescope

It is important to understand that the simulations and the number of particles to be taken into account serve as a limit to the calculations. But you cannot simply add and add a large amount of particles, because even the most advanced computers spend a lot of time on calculations.

The new work took into account fragments with parameters of more than a hundred meters, which is 100-1000 times larger than in other models. The simulation not only allows you to create amazing pictures and animations of what is happening, but opens up many questions that need to be answered.

Greater accuracy was achieved due to the new SWIFT code, which was created to fully exploit the capabilities of the supercomputer. The code is able to determine the amount of time needed for each computational task. He also correctly distributes the work, achieving maximum efficiency.

Exoplanets and beyond

Scientists dream not only to understand the history of Uranus, but also to study the process of planetary formation. Searches show that among the extrasolar worlds most often meet planets like Uranus and Neptune. Therefore, an understanding of the formation and evolution of the ice giants in the solar system will help to study the history of their exoplanetary counterparts.

The planet is on its side. What happened to Uranus in the past

Uranus taken with the Hubble telescope over a 4-year period

In the new simulation, it was important to study the fate of the planet's atmosphere after a giant collision. The model shows that part of the atmospheric layer that survived the first strike can be destroyed by subsequent planetary expansion. The absence of an atmospheric layer reduces the chances of life.

However, huge energy costs and additional materials will help to form useful chemicals for life forms. In addition, the rocky material from the core of the crashed object is able to merge with the external atmosphere. That is, researchers can search for certain trace elements that serve as beacons of a similar effect.

Scientists still do not fully understand the past of Uranus and the consequences of planetary strikes. Every year computer simulations are becoming more and more detailed, but we still have to figure out in many ways. Therefore, scientists insist on the need to send a new mission to the ice giants to explore their unusual magnetic fields, amazing moon families and rings, as well as to understand the composition.

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