WEBVTT - Why Does Uranus Stink?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works. Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vogelbamb here. Urinus stinks and I'm not joking. This

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<v Speaker 1>enigmatic Outer Solar System planet has long had a credibility problem,

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<v Speaker 1>with it being the butt of countless immature jokes. Now

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<v Speaker 1>astronomers have discovered a gas in Urinas's clouds that does

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<v Speaker 1>nothing to curtail this humor at all. Thanks science, The

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<v Speaker 1>newest study published in the journal Nature Astronomy has discovered

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<v Speaker 1>the chemical signature of hydrogen sulfide in the planet's clouds,

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<v Speaker 1>a compound that gives rotten eggs their distinctive stench. Besides

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<v Speaker 1>launching a bevy of new puns, this finding could transform

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<v Speaker 1>or understanding of how our Solar System evolved. It may

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<v Speaker 1>also help us to understand the atmospheres of massive planets

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<v Speaker 1>orbiting other stars. A first a bit of background. Uranus

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<v Speaker 1>has only been visited by a spacecraft once, when NASA's

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<v Speaker 1>Voyager to zipped past the planet in nineteen The fly

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<v Speaker 1>by produced many beautiful and iconic views of this almost featureless,

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<v Speaker 1>light blue world, and astronomers have made countless ground based

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<v Speaker 1>observations of Uranus in hopes of better understanding the composition

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<v Speaker 1>of its atmosphere. Despite these efforts, however, we know little

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<v Speaker 1>about this far away planet. But the discovery of hydrogen

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<v Speaker 1>sulfide is a big step forward, and it could only

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<v Speaker 1>be done using one of our planets most powerful observatories.

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<v Speaker 1>Using the near infrared integral field spectrometer that's attached to

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<v Speaker 1>the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, astronomers were able to

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<v Speaker 1>detect the very slight spectroscopic signature of hydrogen sulfide in

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<v Speaker 1>the uppermost layers of uranus is clouds. This whiff of

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<v Speaker 1>hydrogen sulfide is only the tip of the ode differous iceberg. However,

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<v Speaker 1>the presence of this gas is indicative of a huge

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<v Speaker 1>reservoir below the obscuring cloud deck. Co investigator Lee Fletcher

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<v Speaker 1>of the University of Leicester, UK, in a Gemini North statement,

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<v Speaker 1>said only a tiny amount of hydrogen sulfide remains above

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<v Speaker 1>the clouds as saturated vapor, and this is why it's

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<v Speaker 1>so challenging to capture the signatures of ammonia and hydrogen

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<v Speaker 1>sulfide above cloud decks of Uranus. The superior capabilities of

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<v Speaker 1>Gemini finally gave us that lucky break Astronomers have long

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<v Speaker 1>argued over whether hydrogen sulfide or ammonia dominate Uranus's clouds.

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<v Speaker 1>It's well known that the inner massive planets Jupiter and

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<v Speaker 1>Saturn have atmospheres dominated by ammonia ice, whereas Uranus and

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<v Speaker 1>presumably Neptune do not. It's those very differences in atmospheric

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<v Speaker 1>conditions that place Jupiter and Saturn in the gas giant

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<v Speaker 1>category and Uranus and Neptune in the ice giant category,

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<v Speaker 1>and these differences reveal an insight as to where the

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<v Speaker 1>planets formed. As Fletcher said, during our Solar System's formation,

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<v Speaker 1>the balance between nitrogen and sulfur and hence ammonia and

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<v Speaker 1>Uranus's newly detected hydrogen sulfide, was determined by the temperature

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<v Speaker 1>and location of the planet's formation. The thought is that

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<v Speaker 1>early in our Solar System's history, the massive planets migrated

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<v Speaker 1>from where they initially formed, eventually setting into stable orbits

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<v Speaker 1>where we see them today. Through the analysis of chemicals

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<v Speaker 1>in their clouds, astronomers can now formulate theories as to

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<v Speaker 1>how far away from the Sun these giant worlds formed

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<v Speaker 1>and where they migrated from. With this information in mind,

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<v Speaker 1>astronomers can then look to other stars and gain an

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<v Speaker 1>insight as to how and where giant exoplanets formed. This

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<v Speaker 1>is all very interesting, but a big question that scientists

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<v Speaker 1>are likely answering right now is if we could inhale

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<v Speaker 1>Uranus's atmosphere, would it kill us? The smell would certainly

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<v Speaker 1>be unpleasant, but it's not the stench that would kill you.

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<v Speaker 1>A lead study author, Patrick Irwin of the University of Oxford,

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<v Speaker 1>UK explained in the press release suffocation and exposure in

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<v Speaker 1>the negative two hundred degrees Celsie's atmosphere, made mostly of hydrogen,

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<v Speaker 1>helium and methane, would take its toll along the or

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<v Speaker 1>the smell, So we'll skip the vacation plans, but still

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<v Speaker 1>keep an eye on this fascinating, if stinky planet. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Ian O'Neill and produced by Tyler

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<v Speaker 1>Clang with kind engineering assistance from Ramsay youngt. For more

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<v Speaker 1>on this and lots of other far out topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>our home planet, how stuff Works dot com