When NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by Uranus in 1986, it provided scientists' first—and, so far, only—close glimpse of this strange, sideways-rotating outer planet. Alongside the discovery of new moons and rings,

NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft detected an unexpected phenomenon in the environment around the planet Uranus in 1986. Years later, scientists found the cause.

NASA's Voyager 2 helped shape scientists' understanding of Uranus but also introduced unexplained oddities. A recent data dive has offered answers and renewed interest in the icy planet and its moons.

The Voyager 2 mission, which provided humanity's first and only close-up view of Uranus, revealed a planet with unexpectedly intense radiation belts and an apparently plasma-depleted magnetosphere.