Magnetic Field (2) ...

The adjacent animation shows the orientation of Uranus' magnetic field with respect to the rotation axis, the displacement of the dipole from the center, and the complex motion of the magnetic field as the planet rotates.
Origin of the Large Tilts?
Data on the magnetic fields of the planets are summarized in the table displayed below. Most magnetic fields have axes for their dipole that are tilted not too differently from the rotation axis. For example, Mercury, Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn have magnetic dipole axis tilts relative to the rotation axis that are generally less than 12 degrees. Thus, the very large tilt of the Uranian magnetic axis was a surprise. We know that the Earth goes through periodic reversals of the direction of its magnetic field (for reasons that are not well understood, however). Two theories for the large tilt for the field of Uranus are that it is in some way associated with the event that tilted its rotation axis to lie almost in the plane of the ecliptic (perhaps a collision), or that Uranus is presently going through a magnetic field reversal similar to those of Earth and we have caught it in the middle of the process.

Planetary Magnetic Fields
Planet Magnetic Field at Surface (Earth=1) Rotation Axis Tilt Magnetic Axis Tilt Relative to Rot Axis
Mercury 0.011 0.0o < 10o
Venus < 0.001 177.4o -
Earth 1.0 23.5o 11.5o
Mars 0.001 24.0o -
Jupiter 13.9 3.1o 9.6o
Saturn 0.67 26.7o 0.8o
Uranus 0.74 97.9o 58.6o
Neptune 0.43 29.6o 46.0o
Pluto unknown 118o -
However, these ideas concerning the origin of Uranus' magnetic field were called into question when it was discovered that Neptune also has a very large tilt for its magnetic axis relative to its rotation axis (46 degrees), and that its dipole is also strongly displaced from the center of the planet. Perhaps the mechanisms generating the fields of Uranus and Neptune have common features not shared by the other planets that we don't yet understand. A possible way to produce Uranus' magnetic field is discussed in the right panel.

Magnetosphere

Uranus has a substantial magnetosphere that contains belts of charged particles similar to those of the Earth. The rings and most of the moons orbit within the magnetososphere and thus are protected from the solar wind. Auroras produced by the charged particles trapped in the field have been observed.