Uranus is weird and researchers think a giant collision caused it

Uranus has always been a bit of an oddball in our solar system and a new simulation presented by a group of researchers might explain why.

Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, is a peculiar ice giant that is tilted at a 98-degree angle — while every other planet spins on a vertical axis in relation to its orbit, Uranus spins on a horizontal axisResearchers suggest that this may have been caused by a massive collision.

SEE ALSO: Moody photo from Mars shows a giant crater loaded with ice

Jacob Kegerreis, a PhD researcher at Durham University, presented the analysis that a huge rock, possibly the size of a small planet, collided with Uranus, causing it to tilt dramatically, affecting its spin, its magnetic field, and even its heat distribution. Read more...

More about Uranus, Science, and Space

from Mashable http://bit.ly/2V8euzR