Voyager 2 image of the Uranian moons Portia, Cressida, and Ophelia. Credit: NASA
Posted on 07/04/2018 12:21:52 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The researchers report that they were studying the planet's rings, which are collectively called Eta, and discovered that they had an oddly shaped orbit -- not round or even circular. Instead, they describe it as sort of triangular. More study showed that the odd orbit of the rings was due to gravitational pull from Cressida -- one of the planet's moons. The gravitational impact is exaggerated, they note, due to the moon keeping pace with the orbit of the planet. The particles in the ring, on the other hand, move faster than the moon. This results in the moon tugging on the ring at as it passes by, causing the odd orbital shape. The tug exerted by the moon on the rings allowed the team to deduce its mass. They found that it is around 1/300,000th that of our own moon. Also, it has only 86 percent of the density of water, which indicates it is porous.
In studying the orbits of the moons, the researchers found that Cressida is on a path that will cause it to collide with another moon called Desdemona, which currently moves in an orbit just 900 kilometers from Cressida's. The gravity of Cressida is slowly pulling them closer together and will cause them to crash into one another in approximately 1 million years. They also found the same to be true for Cupid and Belinda, which will collide sometime later.
The researchers note that material in the inner rings around Uranus appears likely to be the remnants of other moons that were destroyed when they collided.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Voyager 2 image of the Uranian moons Portia, Cressida, and Ophelia. Credit: NASA
I don't doubt it.
Have you heard, it’s in the stars
Next July we collide with Mars?
oh my what are we going to so....this will be a disaster
The moons of Myanus have existed peacefully next to each other for 46 years, and I am not expecting any collisions.
Maybe we can send a probe into Uranus to stop it.
It would explain the burning sensation.
Go to San Francisco and you’ll see plenty of lunar collisions.
And if the researchers are wrong, who'll know? Win-win.
I’m here for the laughs and any time there’s an article concerning Uranus, I’m never disappointed. One thing I like about FR. You people are too much!! :)
For a story of cosmic near-misses much closer to home, check out "Worlds in Collision", by Immanuel Velikovsky (1950).
I think the Idea is totally gay so as a virtue signal we will have to do it just beware there might be Klingons so after words lets all wash are hands of this and worry about more pressing issue like whos it was that just realized that we are one big A— H—e waiting to be touched.
sorry if I was offensive...maybe not but if we cant have fun with this stuff why bother.
“You expect me to study Uranus? Why, I’m not even a proctologist...”
Petition the government of Uranus to do something about it. And tell them that they will be held liable for any damages on Earth from fragments of the moons’ collision.
Petition the government of Uranus to do something about it. And tell them that they will be held liable for any damages on Earth from fragments of the moons’ collision.
Moons? I thought those were dingleberries.
Uh oh. Women and children hardest hit. It’s Trump’s fault. Impeach!
Obama.
collision in Uranus …??
isn’t that a hemorrhoid ….??
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