Uranus is one of those ice giants of our Solar System that have caught the attention of astronomers for a long time, and it still does. It’s also the only known planet that has the equator nearly at a right angle to its orbit, having a tilt of 97.77 degrees. Astronomers suspect that a collision with another planet occurring long ago is what caused it.
According to The Guardian, Uranus is now becoming the new target when it comes to places in the Solar System for astronomers to explore. They might even learn more about the Milky Way galaxy where we all live by exploring Uranus.
The coldest planet in our Solar System
There’s no wonder why Uranus is considered an ice giant – it’s the coldest planet in our Solar System. What’s odd is that Uranus is even colder than Neptune, meaning the farthest planet from the Sun.
Therefore, it’s obvious that astronomers can have a lot of reasons to explore Uranus in more detail. But if all this info is not convincing enough for you, feel free to check out what Professor Leigh Fletcher from Leicester University has to say, as The Guardian quotes:
There are few places left in the solar system about which we know less than we do about Uranus. The inner planets have been visited many times by probes and so have Jupiter and Saturn. Even tiny, distant Pluto has been surveyed. So a Uranus mission will fill a glaring gap in our knowledge of the processes that shaped our solar system.
Orbiting at a distance of 2.88 billion kilometers away from the Sun, Uranus completes a full orbit around our star in 84 years. In other words, if there are any aliens on Uranus, living for a single year is a challenge for them.
Astronomers haven’t sent a space probe to Uranus since 1986.