On March 10th, 1977, a routine observation became a historic moment in space science, changing the perception of the planets. James Elliot, Edward Dunham, and Jessica Mink were observing Uranus when a surprising revelation was made that would revolutionise planetary research.
According to NASA, during the observation of Uranus as it crossed in front of the faraway star SAO 158687, astronomers from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory and Perth Observatory in Australia made a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study the faraway planet. Taking observations prior to and following the occurrence, they made a historic discovery: Uranus, just like Saturn, is encircled by rings.
This unintentional discovery of 1977 was a paradigm shift in planetary science.
March 10 1977: Routine observation unveils a shocking discovery about Uranus
The team, employing the Kuiper Airborne Observatory – a high-flying plane-based telescope – was monitoring stellar occultation. Stellar occultation happens when a planet crosses in front of a star light-years away, and blocks its light. This is routine in astronomical observations, and the team was not anticipating anything unusual. But as Uranus crossed in front of the star SAO 158687, they saw something peculiar.
Rather than the anticipated gradual fading of the light of the star, its brightness flashed several times. The fading was irregular, indicating that a body was blocking the starlight in a jumpy way. After careful study, the astronomers determined that Uranus was circled by thin rings according to NASA. This discovery made Uranus the second planet, after Saturn, to be known to have a ring system.
New discoveries reveal Uranus has 13 rings, thanks to Voyager 2's 1986 flyby
Initial studies showed that there were five rings around Uranus, but it was only the start of something much bigger to come. NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft made a flyby of Uranus in 1986, and the information they collected during the mission verified that there were indeed more than five rings around the planet. It turns out now that Uranus has at least 13 rings. While Saturn's radiant, icy rings can be easily spotted from Earth, the rings of Uranus are dark and feeble and therefore hard to spot. They are made up of tiny, microscopic particles that give them their dull look.
1977 discovery of Uranus' rings reshapes understanding of planetary ring systems
Prior to 1977, researchers assumed that there were rings only on Saturn. This finding dispelled that illusion. It was the first confirmation that planetary rings may be found on other planets besides Saturn. After this finding, weak rings were discovered around other gas giants, such as Jupiter and Neptune. This opened up a change in scientific belief, and nowadays it is accepted that planetary rings are not exceptional but a frequent characteristic of numerous planets in our solar system.
The creation of these rings has been believed to be due to broken moons or debris that were caught in the gravitational pull of the planet. Other scientists surmise that rings of Uranus may have developed from moons, which were ruptured by impact or tidal forces, contributing further to our knowledge of how ring systems of a planet evolve.
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