Trolls Around The Solar System (Part 9

The previous parts can be read here: Part 1 (Mercury) - Part 2 (Venus) -Part 3 (Mars) - Part 4 (The Asteroid Belt) - Part 5 (Jupiter) - Part 6 (Jovian Moons) - Part 7 (Saturn) - Part 8 (The Moons Of Saturn)

The DIY rocket left Saturn and continued its journey towards the seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus. T-800 kept bombarding the trolls with information about the moons of Saturn and our three little friends were too tired to listen any more. Luckily, they were about to reach Uranus soon, so a new interesting tour was going to start!

- I could never imagine that there are so many things T-800 knows! This robot is a moving encyclopedia, X42 said.

- Actually, I know a lot more than an encyclopedia, because my database is regularly updated, T-800 said.

- Hey guys! Look! The blue gas giant! X31 shouted.

- This is Uranus, right? With a color like this there is no wonder why they named it after god Ouranos, which means sky in Greek, X42 said.

- Yes, the color justifies the name, X31 agreed. Do you know why it looks blue-green? It's from the methane. The planet's atmosphere is mostly made up from hydrogen, less helium and a bit of methane.

- There are also ammonia and water traces, T-800 added.

- The planet is the coldest in the solar system, temperatures can fall to -224°C, X31 said. It has a small rocky core where temperatures can reach even near 5,000°C, but as you move to the outer layers, you will see only gases under extreme pressures and temperatures will fall, because heat from the core is not enough to warm the planet up.

- I guess we are not landing here either, are we? X42 asked.

- Unfortunately, no, T-800 answered.

- This planet is wonderful though, X31 started explaining. It has such a great tilt of near 98° that it rotates almost on its side. Probably a collision with another body resulted in this. Mark also that it has a retrograde orbit, which means it moves around the Sun the opposite way our Earth does.

- Ha! That's funny! Venus does the same, right? X54 said.

- Right! And what's even more weird is that a day here lasts about 17 hours but a year takes 84 Earth-years, T-800 added.

- But it has to have seasons, I mean it does not revolve vertically like Jupiter, X42 noticed.

- This is correct, X42, X31 said. Uranus has long-lasting seasons, summer here takes 20 years before it ends. The planet experiences also extreme weather conditions.

- Yes, imagine that winds can blow at 900 kilometers per hour here, T-800 said. Around the equator they blow the opposite way to the planet's rotation, but near the poles they blow to a prograde direction.

- Like three spinning air rings! X54 noticed.

- Kind of, X31 said.

- The magnetic field is also weird here, T-800 added. Its axis is tilted 60° from the planet's rotational axis, so the two poles don't concur.

- It is lop-sided too, X31 added. At the north hemisphere the magnetic field is 10 times stronger than at the southern. That affects the auroras as well.

- You know what guys? Before we came here, I thought the planet was going to be bigger, X42 said.

- Well, it's not as big as Jupiter, but it is four times the size of the Earth, X31 answered.

- This planet has also a ring system, T-800 added.

- Oh, yes! I can see them, X54 said.

- As you can see, the inner rings are darker and thin, whereas the outer two have brighter colors, T-800 continued.

- Yes, the one is blue and the other red, X54 pointed out.

- Uranus certainly looks to have a bunch of moons too, X42 noticed.

- 27 we know so far, X31 replied.

- I can't see anything, X54 complained.

- You need to look carefully because they are small and dark, T-800 advised.

- Oh! Now I think I can make out one, X54 said.

- Can Uranus host life? X42 asked.

- With such extreme weather conditions? It's next to impossible, X31 answered.

- Raging storms, crazy winds and diamond rain make pretty hostile an environment, don't you think? T-800 asked.

- Diamond rain?! Here?! No kidding! X42 was excited.

- Oooh yeah! X31 said. Below the surface, in the extremely heated and pressurized atmosphere of the planet carbon and hydrogen are compressed to form real diamonds, which slowly travel to finally rest near the super hot core of the planet.

- I just wish we could dive and see it first hand! X54 said.

- Me too, X42 agreed.

- That would be amazing, but if we want to stay alive I'd say we didn't, X31 advised. Don't forget, beauty sometimes can kill.

- All right, let's keep going, X42 sounded a bit disappointed. What's our next stop?

- Neptune! T-800 answered.

- Neptune, here we come! X54 shouted enthusiastically.

And the troll team continued their journey to the eighth and final planet of the solar system. Their cosmic tour is slowly coming to an end. They have seen so many wonderful sights and learnt so many amazing things that this experience will surely be remembered as the best of their lives.