I’ve always wondered why Uranus spins 90 degrees off it’s orbit. I’m thankful for cosmologists in general, and if you answer this I’ll build a little shrine to bless you, or something...
I am not a planetary guy, so I am not certain of any new ideas on this topic. I do believe it is an unsolved problem. The two competing ideas I have seen presented are some spin-orbit resonance with the other gas giant planets combined with outward planet migration or some series of large impacts from other bodies early on in the formation of the solar system.
I’ve always wondered why Uranus spins 90 degrees off it’s orbit. I’m thankful for cosmologists in general, and if you answer this I’ll build a little shrine to bless you, or something...
I am not a planetary guy, so I am not certain of any new ideas on this topic. I do believe it is an unsolved problem. The two competing ideas I have seen presented are some spin-orbit resonance with the other gas giant planets combined with outward planet migration or some series of large impacts from other bodies early on in the formation of the solar system.
No matter what, Uranus is different.
We need to send probes immediately to explore Uranus.
Big Mike enters the chat.