What Caused Uranus' Unique Rotation?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Futobingoro
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Gyroscope Uranus
Click For Summary
Uranus' unique rotation may have resulted from a significant impact that altered its axial tilt. If the planet originally rotated similarly to Earth, a clockwise force from an impact could have shifted it to its current position. This scenario aligns with existing theories about Uranus' formation. The impact's location in the lower left quadrant could also explain the planet's magnetic field orientation. Overall, the discussion highlights the intriguing possibility of a past collision shaping Uranus' characteristics.
Futobingoro
I was playing around with my gyroscope yesterday and laid out a possible Uranian scenario. If Uranus was long ago in a rotation similar to that of Earth's, then an impact that applied a clockwise force (as viewed from a point further out from the planet looking in at its side) would cause a gyration to its current position. Just thought it was interesting.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Astronomy news on Phys.org
A metallic impact body would describe its current position and magnetic field. If looking in on the planet from further out in the solar system, an object striking in the lower left quadrant would explain the modern field, judging by which position it was in after the gyration.
 
UC Berkely, December 16, 2025 https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/16/whats-powering-these-mysterious-bright-blue-cosmic-flashes-astronomers-find-a-clue/ AT 2024wpp, a luminous fast blue optical transient, or LFBOT, is the bright blue spot at the upper right edge of its host galaxy, which is 1.1 billion light-years from Earth in (or near) a galaxy far, far away. Such objects are very bright (obiously) and very energetic. The article indicates that AT 2024wpp had a peak luminosity of 2-4 x...

Similar threads

  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 39 ·
2
Replies
39
Views
7K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
41K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 23 ·
Replies
23
Views
3K
Replies
8
Views
3K
  • · Replies 51 ·
2
Replies
51
Views
6K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K