Uranus, the sideways planet

By NASA.gov, adapted by Newsela staff on 11.08.16

Word Count 604
Level 770L

TOP: Arriving at Uranus in 1986, Voyager 2 observed a bluish orb with extremely subtle features. SECOND: Uranus is seen in this false-
color view from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope from August 2003. The brightness of the planet's faint rings and dark moons has been
enhanced for visibility. Photo: NASA

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. It is the third-largest planet in our solar system. This
cold, windy ice giant has 13 faint rings and 27 small moons. Uranus appears to spin on its side and
orbit the sun like a rolling ball.

Uranus was the first planet found with the help of a telescope. It was discovered in 1781 by a
scientist named William Herschel.

Uranus' Winter Is 21 Years Long

Uranus is four times wider than Earth. So if Earth was the size of a nickel, Uranus would be as big
as a softball.

Uranus is very far from the sun. It takes sunlight 2 hours and 40 minutes to travel from the sun to
the planet.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

A day on Uranus is about 17 hours. That is how long it
takes for Uranus to spin once. One year on Uranus
equals about 84 Earth years. This is how long it takes
for the planet to make a complete orbit around the
sun.

Uranus is tilted unlike other planets. This might have

been caused by colliding with a big object a long time
ago. This tilt means that the sun shines directly over
each pole of the planet for one-fourth of the year. The
other half of Uranus has a 21-year-long dark winter at
this time.

Methane
Gives
Uranus Its
Color

Uranus
took
shape
about 4.5
billion
years ago.
Uranus
likely
formed
close to
the sun and then moved away. Now, it is the seventh planet from the sun.

Uranus gets its blue-green color from the methane gas around it. It has a small rocky center that
heats up to 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Uranus doesn't have a real surface. It is mostly swirling fluids. A spacecraft would have nowhere to
land on Uranus. It wouldn't be able to fly near it anyway. The planet's pressure and temperature
would destroy a metal spaceship.

Uranus is surrounded by gasses. They are mostly hydrogen and helium. Methane gives Uranus its
color. Wind speeds can reach up to 560 miles per hour on Uranus.

Potential For Life

Uranus does not have any known life. The temperatures on this planet are most likely too much
for creatures to live.

Moons

Uranus has 27 known moons.

All of Uranus' inner moons appear to be made of ice and rock. The outer moons are likely
asteroids.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Rings

Uranus has two sets of rings. The inner nine rings are mostly dark grey. There are two outer rings.
One is red and one is blue.

The rings are called Zeta, 6, 5, 4, Alpha, Beta, Eta,

Gamma, Delta, Lambda, Epsilon, Nu and Mu. Some of
the larger rings are surrounded by belts of fine dust.

Magnetosphere

A magnetosphere is the region of space surrounding a

planet that is dominated by its magnetic field. Uranus
has an unusually shaped magnetosphere. Uranus'
magnetic field is tipped over.

The magnetosphere tail behind Uranus extends into space for millions of miles. Its magnetic field
lines are twisted. They look like a long corkscrew shape.

Exploration

Only one spacecraft has visited Uranus. NASA's Voyager 2 traveled for nine years to reach the
planet. Voyager 2 gathered information about Uranus in just six hours.

Significant Dates

1781: British scientist William Herschel discovers Uranus while searching for faint stars.

1787: The first of its 27 known moons are discovered.

1977: It is discovered that Uranus is encircled with rings.

1986: NASA's Voyager 2 made the first and only visit to Uranus. It discovered 10 new moons, two
new rings and a magnetic field stronger than Saturn's.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.