Confirmed: Uranus Smells Like Farts

Just to be sure.

By ELI MEIXLER 12:23 AM EDT



Uranus seen from its moon Miranda, as depicted by Voyager 2 spacecraft.
 Time Life Pictures—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images



Scientists have determined that the atmosphere above the planet Uranus is full of a gas that makes the distant planet smell like rotten eggs.

A new study, published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy, established the chemical composition of Uranus’ upper cloud deck for the first time.

Using an instrument called the Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) at the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, researchers determined that Uranus’ cloud cover is composed of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas, which is what gives rotten eggs their distinctive, noxious scent.

“If an unfortunate human were ever to descend through Uranus’s clouds, they would be met with very unpleasant and odiferous conditions,” said study co-author Patrick Irwin of the University of Oxford, according to the BBC.

More:
http://time.com/5251988/uranus-hydrogen-sulfide-rotten-eggs-voyager/