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Far from the Sun, near the outer limits of our solar system, the ice giant Uranus slowly orbits its distant parent star. For the first time, astronomers have seen X-rays emanating from this distant world.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory, launched in 1999, examines the Universe in X-rays, highly energetic wavelengths of electromagnetic energy most commonly associated with diagnosing broken bones.
“NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory is a specially designed telescope to detect X-ray emissions from very hot regions of the Universe, such as exploded stars, galaxy clusters, and matter around black holes. Because X-rays are absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere, Chandra must orbit above it, up to an altitude of 139,000 km (86,500 miles) in space ”, describes NASA.
A new study of observations shows this world, literally, in a new light.
Seeing through the X-ray mystery
X-rays have been seen before, radiating from the solar system’s gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn. On those worlds, most of the X-ray emissions are the result of the scattering of X-ray radiation from the Sun, while a percentage is generated in the auroras, similar to the northern and southern lights.
“Measuring the energy of X-rays can tell us the elemental composition of Mercury’s surface. The atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn scatter and reflect the X-rays released by the Sun. Saturn’s rings also emit fluorescence and this is actually the brightest part of the planet when viewed in X-rays. Until now, the auroras of rays X have only been detected on Jupiter and Earth, ”says Affelia Wibisono of University College London.
Researchers studying data collected by the Chandra spacecraft in 2002 and 2017 found X-ray emissions centered on the icy planet Uranus. Analysis of the data suggests that this screen may result from the same conditions as the impulse screens on Jupiter and Saturn.
However, there is an intriguing possibility that a part of this screen has another cause.
Uranus is bathed in electrons and protons, filling the space around the icy planet. One idea holds that these charged particles could interact with material in Uranus’s rings, producing X-rays. A similar process is known to occur in Saturn’s rings.
Another possibility is that X-rays are produced at the auroras at the poles of Uranus. These screens, the result of charged particles interacting with an atmosphere, are known to produce other wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. On Earth, X-rays are produced in auroras as charged particles, drawn to Earth by our planet’s magnetic field, slow down as they pass through our atmosphere.
If any of these ideas are confirmed, the discovery of the nature of the X-rays of Uranus could alter our understanding of this icy world.
Whose side are you on?
So far, only one spacecraft, Voyager 2, has visited this distant icy world. Astronomers therefore rely on observatories (such as the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra) on and near Earth to study this planetary target.
Unlike the other planets in our solar system, Uranus turns on its side, although why it does so remains a mystery. This planet, like the Sun, is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium.
Uranus’ magnetic fields are tilted relative to the axis on which the planet rotates, and this field is centered away from the center of this icy globe. These conditions could create intricate displays of auroras at the poles of Uranus.
The study analysis was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics.
By learning more about the processes that drive X-rays from Uranus, the researchers hope to learn more about other X-ray sources, including black holes and neutron stars.
This article was originally published on The Cosmic Companion by James Maynard, founder and editor of The Cosmic Companion. He is a New England native turned desert rat in Tucson, where he lives with his lovely wife, Nicole, and Max the Cat. You can read this original piece here.
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