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Mining old data from NASA’s Voyager 2 solves several Uranus mysteries

NASA’s Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus decades ago shaped scientists’ understanding of the planet but also introduced unexplained oddities. A recent data dive has offered answers.

But there was apparently no source of energized particles to feed those active belts; in fact, the rest of Uranus’ magnetosphere was almost devoid of plasma. JPL’s Linda Spilker was among the Voyager 2 mission scientists glued to the images and other data that flowed in during the Uranus flyby in 1986. The magnetosphere Voyager 2 measured was only a snapshot in time,” said Spilker, who has returned to the iconic mission to lead its science team as project scientist.

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