URANUS PENETRATED DEEP AND HARD SAY SCIENTISTS

Chinese "heavenly maidens" try to correct the orbit of the queer planet Uranus

There are a number of very good reasons why Trad News is a blog rather than a podcast. The planet Uranus is one of them. Imagine if the above headline were spoken rather than read. There would undoubtedly be a moment of awkward confusion.

Anyway, scientists have now come up with an explanation for the unusual phenomenon of why the moons and ring of Uranus orbit it on a plane at right angles to the rest of the planets and moons in the solar system. Using a computerised model, they have calculated that the planet was hit suddenly by a large, single object that effectively knocked the planet on its side around 3 to 4 billion years ago.

As reported by ABC:

"Detailed computer simulations show that an enormous rock crashed into the seventh planet from the sun", said Durham University astronomy researcher Jacob Kegerreis, who presented his analysis at a large earth and space science conference this month...

The computer simulations show that the collision and reshaping of Uranus — maybe enveloping some or all of the rock that hit it — happened in a matter of hours, Mr Kegerreis said.

He produced an animation showing the violent crash and its aftermath.

"It's also possible that the big object that knocked over Uranus is still lurking in the solar system too far for us to see", said Dr Green.

While the name of the planet continues to be an endless source of amusement, the fact is that due to its unusual orbit, Uranus is the only "queer" planet in the Solar System. As such, having a name that evokes butt sex may not have been such a bad name choice after all.

Computer simulation of Uranus being penetrated deep and hard, and enjoying every minute of it.

Become a Patron!