A team of astronomers has used decades of data from the Hubble Space Telescope to calculate the spin of Uranus with unprecedented precision. The planet, one of our solar system’s most understudied planets, was visited by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986 and again in 2009. However, the accuracy of its rotation speed was limited due to a margin of error.
The team re-analyzed ultraviolet data collected by Voyager 2 using Hubble images taken from 2011 onwards. The analysis allowed for a more precise calculation, with Uranus’ spin now determined to be exactly 17 hours, 14 minutes, and 52 seconds. This new finding resolves a long-standing issue in planetary science, enabling the tracking of Uranus’ magnetic poles over time.
The discovery also sets the stage for an upcoming mission to map Uranus’ gravitational and magnetic fields. However, the fate of this mission remains uncertain due to budgetary constraints facing NASA and the federal government.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/a-long-held-assumption-about-uranus-just-got-upended-2000586293