{"id":800277,"date":"2026-01-23T06:58:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T11:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=800277"},"modified":"2026-01-23T06:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T11:58:29","slug":"voyager-2-met-uranus-40-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=800277","title":{"rendered":"Voyager 2 met Uranus 40 years ago"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Voyager 2 met our sun\u2019s 7th planet, Uranus, on January 24, 1986. Afterwards, as Voyager sped ever-outward from our sun, it obtained this backlit image. Image via NASA\/JPL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

EarthSky\u2019s 2026 lunar calendar shows the moon phase for every day of the year. Get yours today!<\/p>\n

Voyager 2 met Uranus on January 24, 1986<\/h3>\n

The Voyager 2 spacecraft swept past the sun\u2019s 7th planet Uranus on January 24, 1986 The craft came within 50,640 miles (81,500 km) of its icy blue-green cloud tops. Thus Voyager 2 became the first \u2013 and so far the only \u2013 human craft to visit this planet. During its closest approach, and in the weeks before and after, Voyager 2 transmitted a wealth of scientific data that changed our view of this enigmatic, distant world in surprising ways. <\/p>\n

Many remarkable discoveries came from this cosmic meetup. Data from Voyager 2 revealed that a Uranian day is just 17 hours and 14 minutes long. It showed that Uranus\u2019 atmosphere is similar to that of the other gas giants, composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. Below that lay water, ammonia and methane ices.<\/p>\n

\"Pale
Voyager 2 captured this view of the mostly featureless light green-blue disk of Uranus on January 14, 1986, when it was about 7.8 million miles (12.6 million km) from the planet. Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Uranus, the tilted planet<\/h3>\n

Scientists knew, from telescopic observations made from Earth before Voyager 2 met Uranus, that the planet\u2019s rotation axis was tilted at 98 degrees. In other words, the planet\u2019s polar axis lies almost in the plane of its orbit. Scientists think a collision with a planet-sized object early in the solar system\u2019s history tipped Uranus on its side. As a result, Uranus has, perhaps, the most interesting seasonal patterns in the solar system.<\/p>\n

Voyager 2 revealed that Uranus has a bizarre magnetic field. The planet\u2019s magnetic field tilts 59 degrees from Uranus\u2019 axis of rotation. This creates a non-uniform magnetic field for Uranus that can vary in strength by up to 10 times.<\/p>\n

Voyager 2 found that Uranus has radiation belts similar in intensity to those of\u00a0Saturn. Earth also has radiation belts, with\u00a0the two main ones known as the Van Allen belts.<\/p>\n

\"Diagram:
A diagram of Uranus\u2019 magnetic field based on data from Voyager 2. It\u2019s tilted 59 degrees from the axis of rotation. The magnetic south and north poles have the labels S and N. Image via Ruslik0\/ Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The many moons of Uranus<\/h3>\n

Voyager 2 met not only Uranus but its many moons. Initially, scientists discovered 10 new moons in the data Voyager 2 sent back, for a total of 15 moons known at the time. In 1999, additional analysis of Voyager 2 data revealed an 11th moon. Today, we know of 29 moons orbiting Uranus.<\/p>\n

Among the newly discovered moons was Puck, just 100 miles (160 km) in diameter, with a gray, heavily cratered surface.<\/p>\n

Voyager 2 also imaged the Uranian moons we already knew, revealing their amazing geology.<\/p>\n

The last Uranian moon discovered before Voyager 2\u2019s arrival was Miranda. Gerard Kuiper found it in 1948. Thanks to Voyager 2, we saw Miranda much more clearly. In fact, it earned the nickname of Frankenstein moon because of its strange patchwork appearance.<\/p>\n

\"A
Voyager 2 discovered Puck, one of the moons of Uranus. The spacecraft took this image on January 24, 1986, at a distance of about 306,300 miles (500,000 km). Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Round
Miranda\u2019s sharp and diverse features earned it the nickname Frankenstein moon<\/em>. Image via NASA\/ JPL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rings and things<\/h3>\n

By the time Voyager 2 met Uranus, scientists had already discovered Uranus\u2019 rings from Earth. Voyager 2 surveyed Uranus\u2019 rings and discovered two new ones, bringing the total number of rings to 11. Today, there are 13 known rings.<\/p>\n

\"Section
A backlit view of the Uranian ring system shows fine particles distributed throughout the rings. This image was taken just 147,000 miles (240,000 km) away from the planet. Image via NASA\/ JPL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And so Voyager 2 vastly increased our knowledge of Uranus, and then left this world behind for one final rendezvous, with Neptune in August 1989, before heading out of the solar system. In December 2018, NASA announced that Voyager 2 had entered interstellar space. Now, over 48 years after it launched from Cape Canaveral in August 1977, the spacecraft is almost 13 billion miles (21 billion km) from home.<\/p>\n

Where are Voyager 1 and 2 now?<\/p>\n