Uranus is a strange planet and researchers think a giant collision might be the reason

Uranus is one of the strangest planets in the solar system. Researchers have been studying about why Uranus is a weird planet and a group of researchers has finally found the reason behind it.

Uranus is a unique icy celestial body, inclined at 98 degrees. Unlike other planets which rotate on a vertical axis, Uranus rotates on a horizontal axis.

As per researchers’ observation, a giant collision might be the reason behind it. Jacob Kegerreis,a Ph.D. researcher at Durham University suggests thata huge rock probably as large as a small planet might have collided with Uranus. This apparently results in the dramatic tilt, affecting the way it spins, its magnetic field, and moreover,the distribution of heat.

Jacob and other researchers created a simulation to demonstrate exactly what this must have looked like when it actually happened billions of years ago. Considering the size of the rock, we can imagine the consequences would have been catastrophic. Apart from affecting the position of the planet, it may have also contributed to the formation of thick icy outer covering on Uranus, which keeps the heat locket inside making Uranus the only planet in the solar system that doesn’t expel heat from its core.

The impact must have also caused larger moons and rings, which orbit in line with its rotation, to achieve their unique path as well.