All The Strange Places In One

February 05, 1986

The space shuttle tragedy has eclipsed the elation scientists have been feeling about the surprising wonders in the photographs and remote-sensing data radioed back from Uranus by Voyager 2. But the flawless performance of the little spacecraft, now 2 billion miles from Earth, is a needed reminder of American space expertise. And the exotic mysteries Voyager has discovered help explain why the lure of space is so compelling, despite its hazards.

Ten new moons. Newly discovered 10th and 11th rings. A cloud of hot hydrogen blowing thousands of miles beyond the huge planet that shelters an ocean of methane, ammonia and water 12,000 miles deep. An eerie, unexplainable electro-glow in the atmosphere. A baffling, tilted magnetic field. Ancient craters, valleys, glacial flows and strange, bright deposits on a bizarre moon named Miranda.

It`s no wonder scientists say they are awestruck by the discoveries they had not expected, intrigued by the enigmas reported by Voyager and delighted to have new mysteries to integrate into their growing knowledge of the solar system. And it`s not surprising they are talking about Uranus and its moons in superlatives: ``Amazing,`` they said. ``Incredible.`` ``Mind-boggling.``

``It`s all the strange places rolled into one.``

But how satisfying it is that the answers Voyager has provided about Uranus breed even more questions and that the realities it has reported only fire the imagination even more. ``No one could anticipate the exotic nature`` of the mysteries Uranus holds, a scientist told reporters in describing Voyager`s findings. That is why Earthlings are lured into space despite the dangers and the costs: to find the unanticipated and to be filled with awe.