This is off topic but it was so distracting I had to ask: does anyone else trying to read this on mobile have this page serving up the exact same advertisement on this page for each break in the article? I refreshed and it fixed things for the most part. Two areas still have duplicated ads.
Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
21–30 of 62 posts
Re: Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
#22Anything to get clicks right? Uranus IS interesting as it’s the only planet which is turned on its side relative to the spin and orbits of its sibling planets. Just because it doesn’t have swirling clouds due to the extreme cold doesn’t mean it’s not interesting.
The article doesn't say it isn't interesting (nor does the title), and actually says it has nice swirling clouds now. (The comments here really are something else...)
HN doesn't like clickbait titles.
Re: Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
#23The short answer is: "because clickbait titles is part of the industry, it's not really that boring." The longer answer it is sometimes too cold to make the same cool cloud patterns in the visual spectrum Jupiter and Saturn have.
That's not what the article says. It says that, thanks to its unusual axis of rotation (it's lying on its side, with the axis more or less parallel with the ecliptic, unlike every other planet), it spends decades in solstice (sun mostly shining on a polar region) and decades in equinox (sun mostly shining on the equator). During periods of equinox, the day/night cycle rapidly rotates the surface of the planet into and out of the sun's light which causes all kinds of interesting weather phenomena.
During solstice, where the sun just steadily warms one pole, not much happens.
The article concludes by saying that it's boring, but only some of the time.
Re: Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
#24It's a reptilian deathstar.
Re: Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
#25The fact that it is the only one that is relatively featureless makes it incredibly interesting. It's anything but boring.
> relatively featureless makes it incredibly interesting
OT but this reminded me of the "Interesting number paradox" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interesting_number_paradox
Re: Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
#26Because it’s Uranus, by definition?
Re: Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
The article doesn't say it isn't interesting (nor does the title), and actually says it has nice swirling clouds now. (The comments here really are something else...)
HN doesn't like clickbait titles.
was unsure whether I should change the title to something less clickbaity or not. It's the article's original title after all..
Re: Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
#28Bad pickup line or clickbait title? Asking for a friend.
Re: Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
#29Venus is also bland in visible light. However, in ultraviolet light, Venus has interesting cloud patterns. I wonder what spectrum range Uranus shows the most? The article suggests infrared.
As far as the funny name, scientists are planning on renaming Uranus to avoid all the embarrassment. The new name will be "Urectum". (Swiped from an animated Sitcom.)
Re: Why Is Uranus the Only Planet Without Interesting Features on It?
#30The short answer is: "because clickbait titles is part of the industry, it's not really that boring." The longer answer it is sometimes too cold to make the same cool cloud patterns in the visual spectrum Jupiter and Saturn have.
The article literally proposes and refutes that hypothesis. No, the longer answer is that:
1: The Voyager shots featuring a featureless orb were shot near the Uranian solstice, so each hemisphere was getting nearly constant illumination (Uranus is tilted on its side). If you look at it now nearer the equinox (where it has a day/night cycle) you see storms and clouds. And...
2: The cloud patterns are always there anyway, they are just hidden by a methane fog that blocks visible light during the solstice. The heating/cooling cycles of the midyear break up this haze and it looks more transparent.