Quote:It’s time to get serious about Uranus, because there is some really serious science surrounding Uranus’s mysteries. And wow, is Uranus mysterious.

Following some of our very serious informed speculation, scientists have directly observed a molecule in the planet’s deep atmosphere that confirms Uranus’s stench. That molecule is hydrogen sulfide, and it’s important for more reasons than just determining the planet’s scent.

The team peered deep into Uranus’s atmosphere, at and below the part we might call its “surface,” using the Gemini-North’s Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrometer in Hawaii. They report that they’ve directly detected the molecule at around 0.4-0.8 parts per million as ice in its cloud tops. They measured more hydrogen sulfide than ammonia, and also the exact concentration of hydrogen sulfide required to produce a rotten-egg fart smell. They published their paper today in Nature Astronomy.

(04-24-2018, 11:58 AM)Mars Wrote:  

(04-24-2018, 02:19 PM)JayRodney Wrote:    Gawd you guys, they don't call it a gas giant for shits and giggles you know.