00:00Uranus is an enigmatic giant that intrigues astronomers for centuries.
00:05But what distinguishes this gas giant from the others is its strange inclination.
00:10While most planets rotate around a perpendicular axis to their orbit,
00:14Uranus rotates in a different direction.
00:18But why does it look like that?
00:20How did the planet come to be lying on its side?
00:24And what would we see if we visited the surface of such a planet?
00:27Let's find out.
00:29Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun,
00:33is a cosmic strangeness and the source of many jokes.
00:36It is one of the gas giants of our solar system,
00:39with Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune.
00:42It is also the third largest planet in our solar system,
00:45with a diameter of about 49,889 km.
00:50And one of its many peculiarities is a strange rotation on the side.
00:55All the planets in our solar system are not aligned in a straight line.
00:59While most of the planets in our solar system have an axial inclination of less than 30 degrees,
01:04Uranus is inclined at an angle of almost 98 degrees.
01:09It's like this friend that must always be different,
01:12even if it means holding on to your head to prove a point.
01:17So its north and south poles are oriented east and west.
01:20It's as if the planet had become lazy and had just turned around one day,
01:25deciding to take a nap.
01:27And why is Uranus so inclined, you ask?
01:31Scientists once thought that this was due to some kind of collision.
01:35They thought that something gigantic had collided with Uranus.
01:39Something similar to what happened to our Earth.
01:43A dwarf planet hit it, the Earth tilted slightly,
01:46and the moon was born from the debris of the collision.
01:49But this theory had a problem.
01:51In the primitive universe, there were a plethora of asteroids, dwarf planets and other massive objects.
01:57And if this is the case, then why is only Uranus inclined?
02:01All kinds of objects have also hit other planets,
02:04but they do not have such characteristics.
02:09But recently, scientists published a new study.
02:13And now, scientists think that the culprit could be a lost moon that has been gone for a long time.
02:20In the past, at the beginning of the solar system,
02:23giant planets were much closer to each other and much closer to the sun.
02:28But, as we all know, facts can degenerate.
02:31Something made Uranus and Neptune migrate the furthest.
02:35As if they were trying to get away from the strict surveillance of the sun.
02:40Each giant planet had a collection of moons,
02:43but they were constantly moving during all this migratory madness.
02:48Some planets lost moons, while others gained new ones.
02:52Uranus could have been born with a massive moon, or captured one quickly.
02:57And if this moon was big enough, it could have started to play with the rotation of Uranus.
03:03This moon exerted its gravitational attraction on Uranus, further aggravating its oscillations.
03:09Over time, this made Uranus tilt more and more.
03:13Finally, it crashed on the planet, thus fixing its current inclination.
03:19Although the theory is quite solid according to the computer models,
03:23we will have to wait until at least 2030.
03:26It is at this moment that China plans to launch the space ship Tianwen 4,
03:30to examine Uranus more closely and study it more.
03:34Who knows what other crazy secrets of space we will discover next.
03:38In the meantime, we can all have fun with the lazy and rebellious planet,
03:43which seems unable to stand up straight.
03:47Such a funny and unique feature makes you wonder,
03:51what would we see exactly if we stood on this planet?
03:54How would its strange inclination affect the view from its surface?
03:59Let's see.
04:00If you were standing on the surface of Uranus,
04:03although it is not really a surface, it is more like a gaseous atmosphere,
04:07you would have an impressive view.
04:10You would see the sun rise to the east, just like on Earth,
04:13but then it would continue to travel through the sky on an inclined path, like a lazy spiral.
04:20About the sunset, however.
04:23I hope you have patience,
04:25because it would take 42 years for the sun to complete a complete circle in the sky of Uranus.
04:30It's been a long time to wait before finally going to bed.
04:36But speaking of the sky, it would be a magnificent spectacle to contemplate.
04:40Uranus is known for its amazing and unique blue-green color.
04:44This is due to the methane present in its atmosphere.
04:47Methane absorbs the red light, giving Uranus its cold hue.
04:54You would also see incredible clouds and storms swirling around the planet.
04:59But if you are looking for constellations, you are not lucky.
05:03The extreme inclination of Uranus means that its poles face the sun,
05:07so the stars would be dispersed in the sky.
05:10The constellations that are familiar to us would be unrecognizable since Uranus.
05:15In addition, as the planet rotates, the positions of the stars would change very frequently.
05:21For you, sailors out there, good luck for navigation.
05:27But you could see these beautiful moons.
05:30Uranus has 27 known moons, the largest being Titania, followed by Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel and Miranda.
05:38It is thought that these moons were formed from the same material as the one that formed Uranus.
05:44And yes, the inclination affects them too.
05:47They orbit around the planet perpendicularly to the movement of the latter around the sun.
05:52And they are not the only ones.
05:54Did you know that Uranus also has rings?
05:57Yes, Saturn is not that unique.
05:59The rings are composed of ice particles, some as small as grains of sand
06:04and others as large as several feet in diameter.
06:07They are thin, narrow and dark compared to those of Saturn, for example.
06:13They are actually so dark that they hardly reflect light.
06:18That's why it was so difficult to see them from Earth.
06:21But if you were close to the surface of Uranus, you might be able to see them in the sky.
06:27The only question is, would you be able to focus on all these views?
06:32Because Uranus was extremely cold and it will probably be the only thing you would think of.
06:40We are talking about temperatures that can go down to minus 212 degrees Celsius.
06:45Brr, it is better to wear warm clothes for this trip.
06:49This is explained by the fact that it is so far from the sun
06:52and that its atmosphere is mainly composed of hydrogen and helium.
06:57And not only Uranus is the coldest planet in our solar system, but the winters there are long.
07:04Because of the extreme inclination, these seasons last more than 20 years.
07:08It is as if the planet was stuck in a perpetual state of winter.
07:12Which is both cool, without bad puns, and at the same time a little sad.
07:20And if it's not cold enough, Uranus is also known for its violent winds.
07:24In fact, they can blow up to 579 km per hour.
07:28So you might want to hang on to something
07:32or wear a windbreaker to avoid being carried like a leaf.
07:36Finally, the magnetic field of Uranus is also inclined at an angle of 59 degrees
07:42relative to the axis of rotation of the planet.
07:45This creates interesting effects.
07:50The most obvious is the beauty of the auroras, which look like the northern and southern lights on Earth.
07:55On Uranus, however, the auroras are near the equator of the planet rather than at the poles.
08:01Isn't that incredible?
08:03The result is a dazzling luminous spectacle
08:06that would make even the most dazzled space traveler stop and observe with wonder.
08:13But, although it seems rather impressive,
08:16it makes navigation of spacecrafts around Uranus more difficult.
08:20The magnetic field creates an unbalanced gravitational attraction
08:24that can affect the trajectory of spacecrafts.
08:27This makes exploration of Uranus a little more difficult.
08:30But maybe that will change in the future.
08:33All in all, staying on Uranus would be a glacial,
08:37dizzying and breathtaking experience,
08:39and certainly not a simple walk in the park.
08:42The next time you look at the night sky,
08:45think of this magnificent frozen planet
08:47and remember that even in the vast expanse of space,
08:50there is always something new and exciting to discover.
Comments