Rings Of Uranus: NASA - Voyager Space Sounds

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Release Date: 1990

Label: Brain/Mind Research

Voyager II encountered the planet Uranus and discovered its Rings in January, 1986. One startling aspect of Uranus is that its axis of rotation is inclined 97° 54 min from its orbital plane. Uranus lies on its side, with its rings vertical. Of the 9 rings of Uranus, six are inclined with respect to the planet's equatorial plane. The shape of several rings seem to pulsate slightly differently from the others: one quot;breathesquot; in and out, while another changes its eccentricity somewhat over time.

Visual and radio observations revealed the nine classical Rings of Uranus to be composed mainly of meter-sized boulders and to contain scarcely any dust particles. The ring strands are among the darkest objects in the solar system. Such dark color may result from magnetosphereic bombardment of surfaces that contain organic molecules.

An extended corona of atomic and molecular hydrogen extends through the entire ring network of Uranus. Sunlight interactions with the corona cause it to radiate ultraviolet light - a phenomenon called "electroglow".