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It's no secret, there are a bunch of exoplanets out there, some that could support life.
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The weak rings of Uranus and several of its moons are visible in this image taken from the Hubble Space Telescope in 2004. A new Study suggests that the strange tilt of the planet was caused by a cataclysmic collision with another object 4 billion years ago (Photo: NASA, AFP / Getty Images)

Talking from a big bang

A "cataclysmic" collision 4 billion years ago between Uranus and another massive object forever changed the evolution of the giant planet, suggests a new study . Uranus, the seventh planet of the sun, "turns to the side, its axis being almost perpendicular to that of all the other planets in the solar system," says Durham researcher Jacob Kegerreis. Kegerreis and his team performed computer simulations of massive collisions with Uranus to determine how the planet evolved

"The most likely outcome was that the young Uranus was involved in a cataclysm colliding with an object twice larger than the mass of the Earth, if it is not bigger, knock it out and set up the events that helped create the planet we see today. "[19659008] The research could also help explain how Uranus' rings and moons formed, as the impact could have dumped rocks and ice orbiting the planet.

Uranus looks like most o The researchers hope their discoveries will help explain how these "exoplanets" evolved.

Luis Teodoro, a co-author of the NASA study, said that "all evidence indicates that giant impacts are common." During the formation of the planet and through this type of research , we now discover their effects on potentially habitable exoplanets. "

The first planet found with the help of a telescope, Uranus, was discovered in 1781 by astronomer William Herschel. ;said. The planet has been named for the Greek god of heaven.

The study was published Monday in The Astrophysical Journal.

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