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Astronomers have uncovered a stunning twist in the mysteries of Uranus’ moons. Image: NASA, ESA, STScI, Christian Soto (STScI); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI) | The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel ================================================================== A groundbreaking new study has uncovered surprising revelations about the moons of Uranus, challenging existing theories of how these moons interact with the planet’s magnetic field. Researchers, armed with the advanced ultraviolet instruments of the Hubble Space Telescope, have found that the “dark sides” of Uranus’ largest moons—previously thought to be on their trailing hemispheres—are actually on the opposite sides. The new findings, presented at the 246th American...

The peculiar layers could explain the ice giants' magnetic peculiarities. Uranus (left) and Neptune (right) are the ice blue giants in the outer Solar System. Image credit: Patrick Irwin/University of Oxford/NASA Uranus and Neptune were only visited once by human spacecraft when Voyager 2 passed by them almost 40 years ago. During those visits, scientists measured peculiar magnetic fields unlike those seen around other planets. A recent paper suggests that the Uranus measurements might have been messed up by the Sun, but in general, it has been difficult to explain the behavior. New research suggests that the magnetic weirdness might...