A new study suggests that a rare solar wind event during NASA’s 1986 Voyager 2 flyby of Uranus may have skewed our understanding of the planet.

Researchers found that the intense solar wind compressed Uranus’ magnetosphere, temporarily altering its shape and plasma levels.

This anomaly, which occurs less than 5% of the time, could mean that Voyager 2’s data doesn’t represent typical conditions on the planet, Futurism has reported.

The study emphasizes that conclusions drawn from the flyby are tentative, and that further exploration is needed to fully understand Uranus and its magnetosphere.

Written by B.C. Begley