After 38 Years.. A New Study Reveals the Secret of the "Surprising" Data Recorded by "Voyager-2" at Uranus
In a new scientific revelation, a recent study has provided a possible explanation for one of the most puzzling mysteries that has baffled scientists since the historic flyby of the American spacecraft "Voyager-2" near the planet Uranus nearly four decades ago. The study suggests that the spacecraft may have been a victim of "bad timing," as it encountered the planet at a moment when it was subjected to a rare solar storm.
Uranus and Neptune are the only two planets in our solar system visited by a single spacecraft, which is "Voyager-2" in 1986. This brief flyby left a treasure trove of data but also raised profound questions, the most prominent being why a high-energy electron belt was observed around Uranus with a strength that exceeded all theoretical expectations at the time.
According to a research team from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in the United States, the answer may lie in a cosmic coincidence. The researchers proposed that "Voyager-2" may have entered Uranus's magnetic field coinciding with the passage of a "Co-rotating Interaction Region" (Co-rotating Interaction Region), a structure in the solar wind known for generating severe radiation storms.
The scientists stated that such a rare solar event could be responsible for the high-frequency and powerful waves detected by the spacecraft, which were mysterious at the time. This new hypothesis was published in the prestigious scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters.
The research team leader, space scientist Robert Allen, explained that scientific advancements and modern observational data from Earth have contributed to reinterpreting the "Voyager-2" archive. The team referenced a similar solar event that struck Earth in 2019, which caused a massive acceleration of electrons within our planet's Van Allen radiation belts.
When the researchers compared Earth data with that recorded by 'Voyager-2', striking similarities emerged, supporting the new hypothesis that Uranus was not in a normal state during the spacecraft's passage.
According to the study, these intense solar waves may be the key to understanding the massive additional energy detected by the spacecraft, as they are believed to be capable of accelerating electrons to speeds approaching the speed of light.
If this hypothesis is confirmed, it would overturn scientists' understanding of what they believed to be the normal state of Uranus's peculiar magnetic field over the past forty years. It may also open the door to a better understanding of magnetic processes on the sibling planet Neptune.
Allen commented on the findings, saying: "These results represent an additional reason to send a dedicated mission to Uranus.. It is time for that."
The researchers believe that questions still outnumber answers, pointing to an urgent need for a new mission to address questions such as: How exactly do these waves form? What conditions enhance them? And why were they so exceptionally strong during the only visit of "Voyager-2"?
