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Voyager 2

Voyager 2 is a NASA space probe launched on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets. It is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune, providing invaluable data on these planets and their moons. Voyager 2 is now in interstellar space, continuing to send data back to Earth.

Source: science.nasa.gov

APODs including "Voyager 2"

Uranus: The Tilted Planet

26/08/2001

Uranus: The Tilted Planet
Image Credit: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Uranus is the third largest planet in our Solar System after Jupiter and Saturn. Uranus is composed mostly of rock and ices, but with a thick hydrogen and helium atmosphere. The blue hue of Uranus' atmosphere arises from the small amount of methane which preferentially absorbs red light. This picture was snapped by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986 - the only spacecraft ever to visit Uranus. Uranus has many moons and a ring system. Uranus, like Venus, has a rotation axis that is greatly tilted and sometimes points near the Sun. It remains an astronomical mystery why Uranus' axis is so tilted. Uranus and Neptune are quite similar: Uranus is slightly larger but less massive.