BrainStuff Classics: Why Does Uranus Stink?

It's not a joke: Scientists have confirmed that Uranus stinks. Learn how they found out -- and why it's actually really cool -- in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/scientists-confirm-uranus-stinks.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
brain Stuff, Lauren Volk bomb here with a classic episode
from the brain Stuff archives. This one has to do
with one of the amazing discoveries made in recent years
about one of our neighboring planets in the Solar System.
Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vog O bomb here. Urinus stinks

(00:24):
and I'm not joking. This enigmatic Outer Solar System planet
has long had a credibility problem, with it being the
butt of countless immature jokes. Now astronomers have discovered a
gas in Urinas's clouds that does nothing to curtail this
humor at all. Thanks science, The newest study published in

(00:45):
the journal Nature Astronomy has discovered the chemical signature of
hydrogen sulfide in the planet's clouds, a compound that gives
rotten eggs their distinctive stench. Besides launching a bevy of
new puns, this finding could transform or understanding of how
our Solar System evolved. It may also help us to
understand the atmospheres of massive planets orbiting other stars. A

(01:06):
first a bit of background. Uranus has only been visited
by a spacecraft once, when NASA's voyager to zipped past
the planet in the fly by produced many beautiful and
iconic views of this almost featureless, light blue world, and
astronomers have made countless ground based observations of Uranus in
hopes of better understanding the composition of its atmosphere. Despite

(01:29):
these efforts, however, we know little about this far away planet,
but the discovery of hydrogen sulfide is a big step forward,
and it could only be done using one of our
planets most powerful observatories. Using the near infrared integral field
spectrometer that's attached to the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii,
astronomers were able to detect the very slight spectroscopic signature

(01:51):
of hydrogen sulfide in the uppermost layers of uranus is clouds.
This whiff of hydrogen sulfide is only the tip of
the ode differous iceberg. However, the presence of this gas
is indicative of a huge reservoir below the obscuring cloud deck.
Co investigator Lee Fletcher of the University of Leicester, UK,
in a Gemini North statement, said only a tiny amount

(02:14):
of hydrogen sulfide remains above the clouds as saturated vapor,
and this is why it's so challenging to capture the
signatures of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide above cloud decks of Uranus.
The superior capabilities of Gemini finally gave us that lucky break.
Astronomers have long argued over whether hydrogen sulfide or ammonia
dominate Uranus's clouds. It's well known that the inner massive

(02:37):
planets Jupiter and Saturn have atmospheres dominated by ammonia ice,
whereas Urinus and presumably Neptune do not. It's those very
differences in atmospheric conditions that place Jupiter and Saturn in
the gas giant category and Uranus and Neptune in the
ice giant category, and these differences reveal an insight as
to where the planets formed. As Fletcher said, during our

(03:00):
Solar System's formation, the balance between nitrogen and sulfur, and
hence ammonia and Uranus is newly detected. Hydrogen sulfide was
determined by the temperature and location of the planet's formation.
The thought is that early in our Solar System's history,
the massive planets migrated from where they initially formed, eventually

(03:21):
setting into stable orbits where we see them today. Through
the analysis of chemicals in their clouds, Astronomers can now
formulate theories as to how far away from the Sun
these giant worlds formed and where they migrated from. With
this information in mind, astronomers can then look to other
stars and gain an insight as to how and where

(03:41):
giant exoplanets formed. This is all very interesting, but a
big question that scientists are likely answering right now is
if we could inhale Uranus's atmosphere, would it kill us?
The smell would certainly be unpleasant, but it's not the
stench that would kill you. A lead study author Patrick
Irwin of the University of Oxford, UK explained in the

(04:03):
press release Suffocation and exposure in the negative two hundred
degrees Celsie's atmosphere, made mostly of hydrogen, helium and methane,
would take its toll along before the smell. So we'll
skip the vacation plans, but still keep an eye on
this fascinating, if stinky planet. Today's episode is based on

(04:29):
the article Scientists Confirm Uranus Stinks on how stuff Works
dot com, written by Ian O'Neill. Brain Stuff is production
of I Heart Radio in partnership with How Stuff Works.
Dot com and it's produced by Tyler Klang. Four more
podcasts My heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen into your favorite shows.