Uranus Magnetic Field: Journey to the Planets Documentary

[EnSlavingBlair]

I saw a documentary on ABC called Journey to the planets, this one episode being about Neptune and Uranus. I don't know how long ago this doco was made, so there may be updates from it.

In it, they talked about Uranus's magnetic field being skewed differently to the other planets, and that they we're not sure as to what was causing it. Also because they couldn't find proof of there even being a solid core, and hence no iron in that core, that they couldn't explain the magnetic field to begin with. But they said this all after having said that the gas under the surface is pressurised to something more like a liquid -which made me think of plasma in a Sun. But wouldn't that explain the magnetic field? Plasma is generally charged, and when a charge moves it creates a magnetic field. Even Uranus's unusual magnetic field may be explainable due to the creation of the magnetic field not being due to liquid iron in a solid core, but to a liquid gas, which possibly acts differently. Of course, I know there isn't plasma in Uranus, the pressures involved couldn't possibly be enough, but maybe it's related?

These are all just guesses made from the physics I have done, and based on what they said in the mini-series. I would love to know what everyone else thinks, or if there have been any breakthroughs in the area since the show was made.

 

[AndyW]

I can provide some insight into the questions and theories presented in the forum post. First of all, the documentary "Journey to the Planets" was made in 1999, so there have been updates and new discoveries since then.

One of the most interesting things about Uranus is its unusual magnetic field. Unlike other planets, Uranus's magnetic field is tilted at a 60 degree angle to its rotational axis. This means that the magnetic north and south poles are located near the equator instead of at the poles. This tilted magnetic field is believed to be caused by the planet's unique rotation. Uranus rotates on its side, meaning that its rotational axis is nearly parallel to its orbital plane around the Sun. This unusual orientation could be the reason for the skewed magnetic field.

As for the lack of a solid core and iron, this is still a matter of debate among scientists. Some theories suggest that Uranus may have a rocky core surrounded by a layer of icy material, while others propose that it may have a more uniform composition throughout. The lack of a solid core does not necessarily mean that there is no iron present, as iron can exist in different states under extreme pressure and temperature conditions. However, it is true that the exact composition and structure of Uranus's interior is still not fully understood.

The idea of plasma playing a role in Uranus's magnetic field is an interesting one, but as you mentioned, the pressures on the planet are not high enough to create a significant amount of plasma. Additionally, the magnetic field is believed to be generated by the movement of charged particles within the planet's interior, rather than from a plasma layer on the surface.

Since the documentary was made, there have been some new discoveries and developments in our understanding of Uranus. In 2003, the Hubble Space Telescope captured images of auroras on Uranus, providing evidence of the planet's magnetic field interacting with its atmosphere. In 2011, scientists used new data from the Voyager 2 spacecraft to create a model of Uranus's interior structure, which suggested the presence of a rocky core and a thick layer of icy material. And in 2019, observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) revealed the presence of a previously unknown band of hydrogen sulfide gas in the planet's atmosphere.

Overall, while there have been some updates and new discoveries since the documentary was made, there is still much to