Hubble Captures First Pictures of Auroras on Uranus

[n2doc]

By Adam Mann Email Author April 13, 2012 | 1:38 pm |




NASA’s Hubble space telescope has captured the first images of auroras on the ice giant Uranus.

Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, is an oddball world. At some point in its past, the planet appears to have been knocked on its side, so now its “North Pole” sits where the equator on most planets is located.

The newly observed auroras — seen as tiny white dots in the image above — underscore just how strange Uranus really is.

Auroras, also known as the Northern Lights, appear on Earth when the solar wind – a stream of charged particles emanating from the sun — interacts with our planet’s magnetic field. While terrestrial auroras appear as giant green curtains of light and may last hours, the auroras seen recently on Uranus were relatively small and stuck around only a few minutes.

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http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/04/hubble-uranus-auroras/

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Jeez, I had no idea

there were auras on my anus.

And what's that damn telescope doing invading my privacy, anyway?

[jberryhill]

2. You shouldn't have tweeted the pics

[Politicalboi]

3. How did they get a picture of

Rush's pilonidal cyst?

[DCKit]

4. Bastids told me they were gonna airbrush those out before publication.

I'm soooooo calling my agent.

[Fumesucker]

5. Ice giant?

[Gore1FL]

7. AS I understand it, it has to do with the compostion

Technically "Gas Giants" are primarily Hydrogen and Helium. "Ice Giants" are primarily Water, Carbon Dioxide, Ammonia, and Methane ices.

It is not improper to call them all gas giants, however.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. I was thinking something like this:

[tclambert]

12. I thought Odin got rid of the Frost Giants.

Except for Loki, who was sort of a Frost Runt.

[MrMickeysMom]

6. Oh, here come the "your anus" jokes!

Right, Jackpine?

But... have there been Klingon's seen circling it with toilet paper?

[Tx4obama]

9. The side-by-side photo in OP looks more like it should be named 'UrBalls' instead of 'UrAnus' :)

Okay, I'm not so good at makin' up jokes

[MrMickeysMom]

11. It's okay...

Just laugh like a geek, and it'll be funny... cause it's under "science"..

[tclambert]

13. If you develop auroras on Uranus,

eat more bran muffins.

[tclambert]

14. No, wait, I got this! Auroras on Uranus are a major cause of Santorum.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. "underscore just how strange Uranus really is ..."

Uranus is not only stranger than you imagine, it is stranger than you can imagine.