Scientists uncover a magnetic misunderstanding about Uranus

German-born British astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781 with the aid of a telescope, but new research suggests that previous observations made by NASA’s Voyager 2 during a 1986 flyby were misleading due to intense solar wind conditions squashing the planet’s magnetosphere. This finding challenges previous notions about Uranus’s magnetic field, plasma environment, and the orbits of its moons, particularly Titania and Oberon. Scientists emphasize the need for a future mission to Uranus to better understand its unique characteristics and potential for hosting subsurface oceans that could support life.

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