Monday, October 17, 2011

Why does Uranus rotate on its side?


Uranus is a strange planet. While all the other planets in the Solar System have their axis of rotation pointing “up” from the ecliptic plane, Uranus is lying on its side. The axial tilt is 98 degrees. This means that for very long periods, 42 years at a time, either its North or South Pole points directly at the Sun.Some scientists think that Uranus was the victim of a cosmic hit-and-run, but others believe there may be a more elegant way of describing the phenomenon. So what exactly happened to Uranus for having this strange configuration?

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