On jan 24 1986, voyager 2 of NASA met the icy cold planet
Uranus. Its been 30 years since it happened. Now scientists reinspecting that data found one more secret.
34 years ago Voyager 2 flew through a plasmoid, a giant magnetic bubble that may have been whisking Uranus’s atmosphere out to space.
The Wobbly Magnetic Ball
Planetary atmospheres all over the solar system are leaking into space. Hydrogen springs from Venus to join the solar wind, the continuous stream of particles escaping the Sun. Jupiter and Saturn eject globs of their electrically-charged air. Even Earth’s atmosphere leaks.
Many scientists believes that Mars was once used to be wet planet with thick atmosphere. But, it evolved over time, 4 billion years of leakage makes the mars very dry and rusty as we see today.
Planet's atmospheric escape into deep space is because of its own magnitude, which can both help and hinder the process. Scientists believe magnetic fields can protect a planet, fending off the atmosphere-stripping blasts of the solar wind. But they can also create opportunities for escape, like the giant globs cut loose from Saturn and Jupiter when magnetic field lines become tangled.
In Uranus the magnetic axis is 60 degree away from its geographic axis, so as the planet spins, its magnetosphere the space carved out by its magnetic field wobbles like a poorly thrown football. Scientists still don’t know how to model it.
Scientist analyse the Magnetometre reading of
voyager 2 which monitored the strength and direction of the magnetic fields near Uranus as the spacecraft flew by.they zoomed in closer than previous studies, plotting a new datapoint every 1.92 seconds. Smooth lines gave way to jagged spikes and dips. since there is small fluctuation in strength and direction of magnetic field at a specific place lead them to think that it could be a plasmoid(electrified gas). these giant bubbles of plasma, or electrified gas, pinch off from the end of a planet’s magnetotail (the part of its magnetic field blown back by the Sun like a windsock). plasmoids have since become recognized as an important way planets lose mass.
plasmoid is full of electric charge. and it is in globule like structure, the magnetic field varies alternatively inside the plasma. it responsible for major atmospheric loss of uranus.
Researchers can't able to fully figure out how its happening and why its happening with the present data.
Uranus. Its been 30 years since it happened. Now scientists reinspecting that data found one more secret.
34 years ago Voyager 2 flew through a plasmoid, a giant magnetic bubble that may have been whisking Uranus’s atmosphere out to space.
 |
| image credit : NASA |
The Wobbly Magnetic Ball
Planetary atmospheres all over the solar system are leaking into space. Hydrogen springs from Venus to join the solar wind, the continuous stream of particles escaping the Sun. Jupiter and Saturn eject globs of their electrically-charged air. Even Earth’s atmosphere leaks.
Many scientists believes that Mars was once used to be wet planet with thick atmosphere. But, it evolved over time, 4 billion years of leakage makes the mars very dry and rusty as we see today.
Planet's atmospheric escape into deep space is because of its own magnitude, which can both help and hinder the process. Scientists believe magnetic fields can protect a planet, fending off the atmosphere-stripping blasts of the solar wind. But they can also create opportunities for escape, like the giant globs cut loose from Saturn and Jupiter when magnetic field lines become tangled.
In Uranus the magnetic axis is 60 degree away from its geographic axis, so as the planet spins, its magnetosphere the space carved out by its magnetic field wobbles like a poorly thrown football. Scientists still don’t know how to model it.
Scientist analyse the Magnetometre reading of
voyager 2 which monitored the strength and direction of the magnetic fields near Uranus as the spacecraft flew by.they zoomed in closer than previous studies, plotting a new datapoint every 1.92 seconds. Smooth lines gave way to jagged spikes and dips. since there is small fluctuation in strength and direction of magnetic field at a specific place lead them to think that it could be a plasmoid(electrified gas). these giant bubbles of plasma, or electrified gas, pinch off from the end of a planet’s magnetotail (the part of its magnetic field blown back by the Sun like a windsock). plasmoids have since become recognized as an important way planets lose mass.
plasmoid is full of electric charge. and it is in globule like structure, the magnetic field varies alternatively inside the plasma. it responsible for major atmospheric loss of uranus.
Researchers can't able to fully figure out how its happening and why its happening with the present data.
 |
| image credit : NASA |
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