Uranus - The most exotic planet in the Solar System

Until the Ninth Planet (just hypothesis) was discovered, Uranus is still the most "different" planet compared to the remaining 7 planets of our solar system.

Uranus is the seventh planet in the solar system, composed primarily of hydrogen and helium gas.

On January 24, 1986, the interplanetary unmanned spacecraft called Voyager 2 swept across the seventh planet of the Solar System, Uranus, across the solar system. It was the first and last time we visited a giant planet. It is in a very strange position in our solar system .

During ancient times, scholars only recognized the existence of six planets: Glass (Mercury), Venus (Venus), Earth (Earth), Mars (Mars), Jupiter (Jupiter) and Saturn (Saturn), the planets that we can see with the naked eye. It is only when humans invented advanced telescopes that we discover more of the other planets in the solar system.

Although we can see Uranus with the naked eye and have observed this planet throughout history.But in ancient times, it was considered a star, not a solar system planet. It was not until March 13, 1781, that astronomer William Hershel observed and thought it was a comet. He described the results of his observation:

At first, humanity thought of Uranus as a star.Later, William Hershel mistook the planet for a comet.

"For the first time I observed this comet, the magnification of the telescope is 227. From my experience, I know that the diameter of fixed stars does not increase as the magnification of the telescope increases, But I increased the magnification of the glass to 460 and 932 and discovered that the diameter of this comet increased in proportion to the intensity of the magnitude, and so, on that assumption. is not a fixed star , while the diameter of the stars I use for comparison does not increase in such proportions.

Furthermore, through a telescope, comets have a greater magnification than the amount of light it can emit, making it appear blurry and unclear with this large magnification. While stars often retain their brightness and distinctness, but through thousands of observations, I know those elements are always maintained. The corollary indicates that my conjectures are purely grounded, proving it to be a comet as observations later. "

Note: Although there is a "star" in Vietnamese, comet is not a true "star" . Comets are only celestial bodies moving in the solar system with orbits that are usually parabolic and their size is quite small compared to planets . Because the orbital eccentricity is so large, when they fly near the Sun they begin to glow and the brightness increases as the distance to the Sun gets closer. On the contrary, when they are far away from the Sun, they become dark and almost disappear when at the farthest point.

The planet's English name sometimes brings a bit of "trouble".

It was not until Hershel brought this discovery to another astronomer, Nevil Maskelyne, that they realized that it was not a comet, it orbited the sun like a planet. Observations from other astronomers helped him confirm his discovery and he was honored to name the planet. He called it "Georgium Sidus" , or George to honor his king.

However, this did not satisfy the European astronomical community and in 1872, the German astronomer Johann Elert Bode proposed the name Uranus , the Latin name from Greek god Ouranos. However, it was not until decades that this name became widely used.

The discovery of a new planet became a heavenly news in astronomers, opening a race to discover new planets in the solar system.

The distance from the Sun to the first 7 planets is calculated in AU, where 1 AU = Earth - Sun distance.

During the following centuries, astronomers made observations of orbit, discovered 5 moons, the belt system and the unusual tilt of the planet. Unlike other planets in the solar system, Uranus has a tilt of 97.77 ° and has a polar opposite of the Sun.

However, it was not until the 20th century that Uranus received attention from astronomers.

In 1965, Gary Flandro, a student at the California Institute of Technology and an employee at the jet engine laboratory, began a project to map NASA locations to make an effort to explore. Discovering this planet is the main goal. He began to trace the Uranus' orbit to see what was possible. He then realized that "Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune in 14 years will align themselves to one side of the Sun" , according to Jay Gallentine of the Ambassador from Earth: Examinations break the vanguard with unmanned spacecraft.

The current human knowledge of Uranus.

This is the first step in recognizing a new space program, a program that will eventually discover the outer part of the solar system - Voyager. This is an ambitious project and 2 spacecraft have been developed for the trip to the outermost part of this solar system.

In 1977, both spacecraft took off and flew straight to Saturn. On September 5, Voyager 1 flew through Jupiter and Saturn before flying off the solar system. Voyager 2 took off on August 20, flying through Moc Tinh, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune before leaving the solar system.

On January 24, 1986, Voyager 2 reached the closest planetary point of the Solar System, 50,600 miles from the surface (more than 80,000 km).

When it was there, Voyager 2 discovered a treasure trove of new information about the planet - in addition to checking the previously discovered natural satellites, including: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon, it also discovered several other satellites such as Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Julliet, Portia, Rosalind, Belinda, Perdita and Puck.

Just like Moc Tinh and Saturn, Thien Vuong Tinh has a lot of "wife and children".

This probe also discovered very interesting things about the Uranus's atmosphere . The weather here is extremely high , with mainly hydrogen and helium gas. One of the important findings is that the planet's magnetic field is very strange.

The meeting lasted 5.5 hours before Voyager 2 continued on its way to the next planet - Hai Vuong Tinh - with the help of gravity.

After that, people continue to learn about this planet. We have seen aurora in the planet's atmosphere . In addition, we just learned that the planet's atmosphere is heating up abruptly. There are still many other things to learn about Uranus.

Will mankind ever again visit this "nobody-like" planet again?

So far, no other probe has been sent to Uranus. There have been a number of missions that have been proposed even though none of them have been promoted as missions to Mars, Jupiter or Saturn. As of 2015, NASA has begun to consider a new mission, likely to be carried out in the 2020s. Another mission to Uranus will likely require an orbiter, providing information. Details about this mysterious planet.