Facts about Uranus

1. Uranus is the coldest planet in the Solar System:

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun, orbiting at a distance of 2.88 billion km. But it’s
still much closer than Neptune, which averages a distance of 4.5 billion km from the Sun.
However, this does not prevent Uranus from being colder than Neptune. Whereas the
former experiences an average temperature of 72 K (-201 °C/-330 °F), reaching a low of 55 K
(-218 °C/-360 °F). In contrast, the temperatures at the cloud tops on Uranus (which is
defined as “surface temperature” for gas giants) averages 76 K (-197.2 °C/-323 °F), but can
dip as low as 47 K (-226 °C/-375 °F). This is due to the fact that, unlike the other large
planets in the Solar System, Uranus actually gives off less heat than it absorbs from the Sun.
While the other large planets have tremendously hot cores, which radiate infrared radiation,
Uranus’ core cooled down to the point that it no longer radiates much energy.

2. Uranus orbits the Sun on its side:

All of the planets in the Solar System rotate on their axis, with a tilt that’s similar to the Sun.
In many cases, planet’s have an axial tilt, where one of their poles will be inclined slightly
towards the Sun. For example, the axis of the Earth’s rotation is tilted 23.5-degrees away
from the Sun’s plane. Mars is similar, with a tilt of about 24 degrees, which results in
seasonal changes on both planets.

But the axial tilt of Uranus is a staggering 99 degrees! In other words, the planet is rotating
on its side. All the planets look a bit like spinning top as they go around the Sun, but Uranus
looks more like a ball rolling in a circular pattern. And this leads to another strange fact
about Uranus…

3. A Season on Uranus lasts one long day – 42 years:

A sidereal day on Uranus (that is, the time it takes for the planet to complete a single
oration on its axis) is only about 17 hours long. But the tilt of Uranus is so pronounced that
one pole or the other is usually pointed towards the Sun. This means that a day at the north
pole of Uranus lasts half of a Uranian year – 84 Earth years.

So, if you could stand on the north pole of Uranus, you would see the Sun rise in the sky and
circle around for 42 years. By the end of this long, drawn-out “summer”, the Sun would
finally dip down below the horizon. This would be followed by 42 years of darkness,
otherwise known as a single “winter” season on Uranus.

4. Uranus is the second-least dense planet:

The least dense planet in the Solar System is Saturn. In fact, with a mean density of 0.687
g/cm3, Saturn’s body is actually less dense than water (1 g/cm³). This means that the planet
would float in a pool, provided it were roughly 60,000 km wide. With a mean density of 1.27
g/cm3, Uranus has the second-lowest density of any planet in the Solar System.

This low density has an interesting side effect. Despite the fact that Uranus is 14.5 times as
massive as the Earth, its significantly lower density means that you would only experience
about 89% the force of gravity, assuming you could stand on Uranus’ cloud tops.
5. Uranus has rings:
When it comes to ring systems, Saturn’s are the most famous. In addition to be colorful and
far-reaching, they are also highly visible. One could spot them using nothing more than a
backyard telescope. But in truth, all the gas and ice giants have their own ring systems, and
Uranus’ is the second most dramatic set of rings in the Solar System.

However, these rings are composed of extremely dark particles which vary in size from
micrometers to a fraction of a meter – hence why they are not nearly as discernible as
Saturn’s. Thirteen distinct rings are presently known, the brightest being the epsilon ring.
And with the exception of two very narrow ones, these rings usually measure a few
kilometers in width.

The rings are probably quite young, and are not believed to have formed with Uranus. The
matter in the rings may once have been part of a moon (or moons) that was shattered by
high-speed impacts. From numerous pieces of debris that formed as a result of those
impacts, only a few particles survived, in stable zones corresponding to the locations of the
present rings.

6. The atmosphere of Uranus contains “ices”:

Compared to Jupiter and Uranus, Neptune seems quite… normal. When one looks at the
swirling clouds and eddies that stream across the surface of Jupiter and Saturn, the violent
and turbulent nature of their atmospheres is made clear. Uranus, by contrast, appears as a
light and uniform blue. But thanks to improved instruments that can examine planets
through other wavelengths (i.e. infrared) and the flyby conducted by the Voyager 2
spacecraft, some significant things become apparent.

For example, Uranus has powerful zonal winds within its atmosphere that can reach up to
250 m/s (900 km/h, 560 mph), and can generate anticyclonic storms like Jupiter’s Great Red
Spot (known as the “Dark Spot“). It also has cloud patterns that differ between hemispheres,
some of which last for mere hours while others can persist for years or decades.

But perhaps most interesting is the presence of certain “ices” in Uranus’ atmosphere. The
third-most-abundant component of Uranus’s atmosphere is methane (CH), which is what
accounts for Uranus’ aquamarine color. There are also trace amounts of other
hydrocarbons, such as ethane, acetylene, methylacetylene, and diacetelyne – all of which
are believed to be the result of methane interacting with solar ultraviolent radiation (aka.
photolysis). And last, there are confirmed traces of water, ammonia, carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, and hydrogen sulfide within the layers of Uranus’ atmosphere. And due to the
extreme cold, they are suspended in an icy state (hence the term “ice giant”).

7. Uranus has 27 moons:

Like all of the giant planets, Uranus has its share of moons. At present, astronomers have
confirmed the existence of 27 natural satellites. But for the most part, these moons are
small and irregular.If you were to add up all of their masses, they would still be less than the
half the mass of Triton, Neptune’s largest moon. However, unlike Triton, Uranus’ larger
moons are all believed to have formed from an accretion disk that surrounded the planet,
rather than being captured objects.

The largest moons of Uranus are, in order of size, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Oberon and
Titania. These moons range in diameter and mass from 472 km and 6.7 × 1019 kg for
Miranda to 1578 km and 3.5 × 1021 kg for Titania. Each of these moons is particularly dark,
with low bond and geometric albedos. Ariel is the brightest while Umbriel is the darkest.

8. Uranus was the first planet discovered in the modern age:

Most of the planets are visible to the unaided eye, and were known in ancient times. Uranus
was the first planet discovered after the invention of the telescope. It was first recorded in
1690 by John Flamsteed, who thought it was a star in the constellation Tauri. But it wasn’t
until Sir William Herschel made his observations in 1781 that astronomers finally realized it
was a planet.

Herschel originally wanted to call Uranus “George’s Star” after King George III of England.
However, this was not a popular name outside of England. Eventually, the astronomical
community officially settled on the name Uranus – the Latinized version of the Greek god of
the sky, Ouranos – and the name stuck.

9. You can see Uranus with the unaided eye:

You might be surprised to know that you can see Uranus without a telescope. At magnitude
5.3, Uranus is just within the brightness scale that a human eye can perceive. Unfortunately,
you’d need to make sure that the night sky was extremely dark (i.e. no light pollution), and
would have to know exactly where to look. Because of this, Uranus has actually been
spotted many times in the past by ancient and pre-modern astronomers. But given its low
luminosity compared to the other planets, it was generally mistaken for a star. In fact, when
Flamsteed first observed it, he cataloged it as 34 Tauri, believing it to be a star in the Taurus
constellation.

Because of this, Uranus has actually been spotted many times in the past by ancient and
pre-modern astronomers. But given its low luminosity compared to the other planets, it was
generally mistaken for a star. In fact, when Flamsteed first observed it, he cataloged it as 34
Tauri, believing it to be a star in the Taurus constellation.