In a new study, scientists say that the planet Uranus is leaking gas from its atmosphere into space.

This finding has been taken from data collected by Voyager 2 during its encounter with Uranus in 1986. The data has been studied only now.

On 24 January 1986, Voyager 2 flew just 81,400 km past the cloud tops of Uranus, on its way to the outer solar system.

What does the study say?

• Voyager 2 detected a plasmoid (a ‘bubble’ or pocket of atmospheric material) being pushed away from Uranus by the planet’s magnetic field.
• This plasmoid was huge and if we measure it, the bubble would stretch from Earth to the Moon.
• This finding shows that Uranus’ magnetic field reconnects at the tail, like Earth’s. However, Uranus’ magnetic field is very different from Earth’s – it is weirdly skewed and wobbly.
• The study also suggests that internal forces play a role in the planet’s magnetic dynamics.

However, since this data is so old, we can find out more only when we send new probes to study Uranus, which may not be anytime soon.

Among planets, leaky atmospheres aren’t that uncommon. Venus, Jupiter’s moon Io and even Earth’s atmosphere leaks.

What is Voyager 2?

Voyager 2 is a space probe launched by NASA in 1977, to study the outer planets. In 2019, it finally reached interstellar space, beyond the Sun’s boundary. Up to now, it is the only mission to visit Uranus and Neptune up close.

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