Aptly named Uranus does indeed smell of farts

Uranus, the universe's ultimate fart joke. Photo / Getty Images

In case you were wondering, Uranus, the planet that was the butt of many jokes when you were a kid, really does smell of farts.

Scientists have confirmed that Uranus is surrounded by noxious fart clouds, which mean Uranus really stinks.

The new study, from the University of Oxford and published in Nature Astronomy, confirms Uranus has an atmosphere made up of hydrogen sulfide, the same compound that is responsible for smells like rotten eggs and farts.

"If an unfortunate human were ever to descend through Uranus's clouds, they would be met with very unpleasant and odiferous conditions," Patrick Irwin, one of the study's authors, said in a news release.

Fear not because even if you could get to Uranus, you'd probably die before you could smell it.

"Suffocation and exposure in the -200C atmosphere made of mostly hydrogen, helium, and methane would take its toll long before the smell," Irwin added.

This is the first time there is actual scientific proof of the compound that forms Uranus' atmosphere, after decades of speculation.

To reach the conclusion, the authors examined sunlight bouncing off the planet as caputed by the eight-meter Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. The light allowed the scientists to examine the molecules in the planet's atmosphere.

Scientists now need to invent a way for you to travel back in time and high five your younger self for making fart jokes that were both funny and, it turns out, scientifically accurate.