Uranus is the seventh planet in the solar system and has two sets of rings around the equator. Uranus is four times the size of Earth and rotates around its axis in a completely different way from other planets in our star system.
| Chandra X-ray Observatory It is an X-ray telescope in Earth orbit. It is named after the American astrophysicist of Indian origin Subrahmanyana Chandrasekhara (1910-1995). The observatory launched the Columbia space shuttle in 1999. |
This cold, distant body is almost entirely made up of hydrogen and helium, according to Reuters reports. So what makes it emit x-rays? According to NASA, the answer is very simple: especially the sun.
Additionally, astronomers have previously noted that Jupiter and Saturn scatter X-rays from the Sun – just like Earth’s atmosphere scatters sunlight. And it could be so with Uranus.
Do the rings themselves emit radiation?
Another possibility, according to scientists, is that the X-rays are produced by the rings of Uranus themselves, and so are the rings of Saturn.
Uranium is surrounded by charged particles such as electrons and protons. Experts believe that if their rings collide, it could directly cause the rings to emit x-rays.
For planetary rings in general, in late 2018, NASA said that with data from Voyager 1 and 2, scientists discovered that Saturn was slowly losing its distinctive rings. The study found that Saturn’s gravity attracts the ice particles from the rings, which then turn into a shower of dust. It is estimated that it could disappear completely within 100 million years.