Uranus is weird and researchers think a giant collision caused it

[NelsonG]

Uranus has always been a bit of an oddball in our solar system and a new simulation presented by a group of researchers might explain why.

Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, is a peculiar ice giant that is tilted at a 98-degree angle — while every other planet spins on a vertical axis in relation to its orbit, Uranus spins on a horizontal axisResearchers suggest that this may have been caused by a massive collision.

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Jacob Kegerreis, a PhD researcher at Durham University, presented the analysis that a huge rock, possibly the size of a small planet, collided with Uranus, causing it to tilt dramatically, affecting its spin, its magnetic field, and even its heat distribution. Read more...

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