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left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
Tue Apr 6, 2021, 02:54 PM Apr 2021

Mysterious X-rays are flaring out of Uranus

For the first time, astronomers have detected mysterious X-rays flaring out of Uranus. According to NASA scientists, Uranus is so massive that it could just be scattering X-rays given off by the sun more than a billion miles away. Or, perhaps the fine rings of dust surrounding Uranus are generating their own radiation through some unknown process. A closer study of Uranus is required to know for sure.

Uranus is cold, windy and made almost entirely of ice and gas. Even though it's enormous (with a diameter about four times Earth's), Uranus is difficult to study in depth. Only one spacecraft — NASA's Voyager 2 — has ever made the perilous journey to the planet, forcing scientists to rely mostly on telescope observations much closer to Earth in order to study the ice giant.

According to NASA, X-rays are emitted when matter is heated to millions of degrees, like when stars explode or when matter swirls around the edge of a black hole at near light speed. Until recently, X-ray emissions had been detected from every planet in the solar system except Uranus and Neptune. In the new study, researchers looked at Chandra data taken from Uranus in 2002 and 2017, and saw clear evidence of X-ray emissions in both years.

Several of these emissions had a brightness consistent with solar X-rays being scattered back outward, the researchers wrote. However, in the 2017 observations, the team detected a possible "flare" of X-rays, where the brightness of emissions around Uranus increased four times from one day to the next.

https://www.livescience.com/uranus-x-ray-radiation-detected.html

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Mysterious X-rays are flaring out of Uranus (Original Post) left-of-center2012 Apr 2021 OP
Sorry, I had the hot curry. CaptainTruth Apr 2021 #1
I decided to keep silent.. HUAJIAO Apr 2021 #4
I was just ready to take a drink when I read your post... luckily, I saved the keyboard chia Apr 2021 #6
I'm pretty sure that isn't and X-ray flaring out from my anus. patphil Apr 2021 #2
Is not neither! rsdsharp Apr 2021 #3
Well look, we've basically been in sweats for most of a year now underpants Apr 2021 #5
Goddam fingers won't behave..Stop it. Damn Liz. 3Hotdogs Apr 2021 #7
Are NOT!!!!! Scrivener7 Apr 2021 #8
It's been a rough morning... 2naSalit Apr 2021 #9

patphil

(6,176 posts)
2. I'm pretty sure that isn't and X-ray flaring out from my anus.
Tue Apr 6, 2021, 03:03 PM
Apr 2021

Probably that bean burrito I had for a late night snack yesterday.

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