Rings of Uranus is our most amazing Space Sound CD. It resembles Gigantic Tibetan Bowls being played in space. This Audio Program from space is great for centering and balancing, creating a great meditation experience.

Voyager II encountered the planet Uranus and discovered its Rings in January, 1986. One startling aspect of Uranus is that its axis of rotation is inclined 97° 54 min from its orbital plane. Uranus lies on its side, with its rings vertical. Of the 9 rings of Uranus, six are inclined with respect to the planet's equatorial plane. The shape of several rings seem to pulsate slightly differently from the others: one "breathes" in and out, while another changes its eccentricity somewhat over time.

Visual and radio observations revealed the nine classical Rings of Uranus to be composed mainly of meter-sized boulders and to contain scarcely any dust particles. The ring strands are among the darkest objects in the solar system. Such dark color may result from magnetosphereic bombardment of surfaces that contain organic molecules.

An extended corona of atomic and molecular hydrogen extends through the entire ring network of Uranus. Sunlight interactions with the corona cause it to radiate ultraviolet light - a phenomenon called "electroglow".

For more information about plasma and magnetic fields and their relationship to our sound recordings from space, consult the April 1991 issue of Scientific American Magazine for an article entitled "Collisionless Shock Waves".

Special thanks to our friends and contacts at various U.S. National Space Agencies and Universities. This Space Recording Series is dedicated to the memory of Fred Scarf, PhD, who developed the acoustic recording project for Voyager and is directly responsible for the sounds you hear on these recordings from space.

Authentic photos are made available, courtesy of JPL and NASA.