Uranus Facts

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third largest (by diameter).
Uranus is larger in diameter but smaller in mass than Neptune

Planet Profile
orbit: 2,870,990,000 km (19.218 AU) from Su
diameter: 51,118 km (equatorial)
mass: 8.683e25 kg
History of Uranus
Careful pronunciation may be necessary to avoid embarrassment; say
"YOOR a nus" , not "your anus" or "urine us".

Uranus is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god. Uranus
was the son and mate of Gaia the father of Cronus (Saturn) and of the Cyclopes and
Titans (predecessors of the Olympian gods).

Uranus, the first planet discovered in modern times, was discovered by William
Herschel while systematically searching the sky with his telescope on March 13,
1781. It had actually been seen many times before but ignored as simply another
star (the earliest recorded sighting was in 1690 when John Flamsteed cataloged it as
34 Tauri). Herschel named it "the Georgium Sidus" (the Georgian Planet) in honor of
his patron, the infamous (to Americans) King George III of England; others called it
"Herschel". The name "Uranus" was first proposed by Bode in conformity with the
other planetary names from classical mythology but didn't come into common use
until 1850.

Uranus has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2 on Jan 24 1986.

Most of the planets spin on an axis nearly perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic
but Uranus' axis is almost parallel to the ecliptic. At the time of Voyager 2's
passage, Uranus' south pole was pointed almost directly at the Sun. This results in
the odd fact that Uranus' polar regions receive more energy input from the Sun than
do its equatorial regions. Uranus is nevertheless hotter at its equator than at its
poles. The mechanism underlying this is unknown.

Actually, there's an ongoing battle over which of Uranus' poles is its north pole!
Either its axial inclination is a bit over 90 degrees and its rotation is direct, or it's a
bit less than 90 degrees and the rotation is retrograde. The problem is that you
need to draw a dividing line *somewhere*, because in a case like Venus there is
little dispute that the rotation is indeed retrograde (not a direct rotation with an
inclination of nearly 180).

Uranus is composed primarily of rock and various ices, with only about 15%
hydrogen and a little helium (in contrast to Jupiter and Saturn which are mostly
hydrogen). Uranus (and Neptune) are in many ways similar to the cores of Jupiter

and Saturn minus the massive liquid metallic hydrogen envelope. It appears that
Uranus does not have a rocky core like Jupiter and Saturn but rather that its
material is more or less uniformly distributed.

Uranus' atmosphere is about 83% hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane.

Like the other gas planets, Uranus has bands of clouds that blow around rapidly. But
they are extremely faint, visible only with radical image enhancement of the
Voyager 2 pictures (right). Recent observations with HST (left) show larger and more
pronounced streaks. Further HST observations show even more activity. Uranus is no
longer the bland boring planet that Voyager saw! It now seems clear that the
differences are due to seasonal effects since the Sun is now at a lower Uranian
latitude which may cause more pronounced day/night weather effects. By 2007 the
Sun will be directly over Uranus's equator.

Uranus' blue color is the result of absorption of red light by methane in the upper
atmosphere. There may be colored bands like Jupiter's but they are hidden from
view by the overlaying methane layer.

Like the other gas planets, Uranus has rings. Like Jupiter's, they are very dark but
like Saturn's they are composed of fairly large particles ranging up to 10 meters in
diameter in addition to fine dust. There are 13 known rings, all very faint; the
brightest is known as the Epsilon ring. The Uranian rings were the first after Saturn's
to be discovered. This was of considerable importance since we now know that rings
are a common feature of planets, not a peculiarity of Saturn alone.

Voyager 2 discovered 10 small moons in addition to the 5 large ones already known.
It is likely that there are several more tiny satellites within the rings.

Uranus' magnetic field is odd in that it is not centered on the center of the planet
and is tilted almost 60 degrees with respect to the axis of rotation. It is probably
generated by motion at relatively shallow depths within Uranus.

Uranus is sometimes just barely visible with the unaided eye on a very clear night; it
is fairly easy to spot with binoculars (if you know exactly where to look). A small
astronomical telescope will show a small disk. There are several Web sites that show
the current position of Uranus (and the other planets) in the sky, but much more
detailed charts will be required to actually find it. Such charts can be created with a
planetarium program.

Uranus' Satellites
Uranus has 27 named moons:
Unlike the other bodies in the solar system which have names from classical
mythology, Uranus' moons take their names from the writings of Shakespeare and
Pope.

They form three distinct classes: the 11 small very dark inner ones discovered by
Voyager 2, the 5 large ones (right), and the newly discovered much more distant
ones.
Most have nearly circular orbits in the plane of Uranus' equator (and hence at a
large angle to the plane of the ecliptic); the outer 4 are much more elliptical.

Distance Radius

Mass

Satellite (000 km) (km)

(kg) Discoverer Date

--------- -------- ------ ------- ---------- ----Cordelia

50

13

Voyager 2

1986

Ophelia

54

16

Voyager 2

1986

Bianca

59

22

Voyager 2

1986

Cressida

62

33

Voyager 2

1986

Desdemona
Juliet
Portia
Rosalind

63

64

42

66

29

Voyager 2

55

70

Voyager 2
1986

Voyager 2

27

1986

Voyager 2

75

Belinda

75

34

Voyager 2

1986

Perdita

76

40

Voyager 2

1986

Puck

86

77

Voyager 2

1985

Mab

98

Showalter

2003

Ariel
Umbriel
Titania

130
191

Showalter

1986

Cupid

Miranda

1986

2003

236 6.30e19 Kuiper

1948

579 1.27e21 Lassell

266
436

1851

585 1.27e21 Lassell

1851

789 3.49e21 Herschel

1787

Oberon

583

Francisco

4281

Sheppard

2003

Caliban

7169

40

Gladman

1997

Stephano

7948

761 3.03e21 Herschel

15

Holman

1999

8578

Sycorax

12213

80

Nicholson

1997

Margaret

14689

Sheppard

2003

Prospero

16568

20

Holman

1999

Setebos

17681

20

Kavelaars

1999

Sheppard

2003

21000

Gladman

Trinculo

Ferdinand

1787

2001

Uranus' Rings
Distance
Ring

Width

(km)

------- --------

(km)
-----

Zeta 39,600

3,500 (formally 1986U2R)

41,840

1-3

42,230

2-3

42,580

2-3

Alpha 44,720

7-12

Beta 45,670

7-12

Eta

0-2

47,190

Gamma

47,630

Delta 48,290
Lambda

50,024

1-4
3-9
1-2 (formally 1986 U1R)

Epsilon 51,140

20-100

Nu

67,300

3,800 (formally R/2003 U2)

Mu

97,700

17,000 (formally R/2003 U1)

(distance is from Uranus' center to the ring's inner edge)

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and is the third largest in the solar
system. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1781. It has an equatorial diameter
of 51,800 kilometers (32,190 miles) and orbits the Sun once every 84.01 Earth
years. It has a mean distance from the Sun of 2.87 billion kilometers (1.78 billion
miles). It rotates about its axis once every 17 hours 14 minutes. Uranus has at least
22 moons. The two largest moons, Titania and Oberon, were discovered by William
Herschel in 1787.
The atmosphere of Uranus is composed of 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane
and small amounts of acetylene and other hydrocarbons. Methane in the upper
atmosphere absorbs red light, giving Uranus its blue-green color. The atmosphere is
arranged into clouds running at constant latitudes, similar to the orientation of the
more vivid latitudinal bands seen on Jupiter and Saturn. Winds at mid-latitudes on
Uranus blow in the direction of the planet's rotation. These winds blow at velocities
of 40 to 160 meters per second (90 to 360 miles per hour). Radio science
experiments found winds of about 100 meters per second blowing in the opposite
direction at the equator.

Uranus is distinguished by the fact that it is tipped on its side. Its unusual position is
thought to be the result of a collision with a planet-sized body early in the solar
system's history. Voyager 2 found that one of the most striking influences of this
sideways position is its effect on the tail of the magnetic field, which is itself tilted
60 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. The magnetotail was shown to be
twisted by the planet's rotation into a long corkscrew shape behind the planet. The
magnetic field source is unknown; the electrically conductive, super-pressurized
ocean of water and ammonia once thought to lie between the core and the
atmosphere now appears to be nonexistent. The magnetic fields of Earth and other
planets are believed to arise from electrical currents produced in their molten cores.

Uranus' Rings

In 1977, the first nine rings of Uranus were discovered. During the Voyager
encounters, these rings were photographed and measured, as were two other new
rings and ringlets. Uranus' rings are distinctly different from those at Jupiter and
Saturn. The outermost epsilon ring is composed mostly of ice boulders several feet
across. A very tenuous distribution of fine dust also seems to be spread throughout
the ring system.

There may be a large number of narrow rings, or possibly incomplete rings or ring
arcs, as small as 50 meters (160 feet) in width. The individual ring particles were
found to be of low reflectivity. At least one ring, the epsilon, was found to be gray in
color. The moons Cordelia and Ophelia act as shepherd satellites for the epsilon
ring.

Uranus Statistics
Discovered by

William Herschel

Date of discovery

1781

Mass (kg)

8.686e+25

Mass (Earth = 1)

1.4535e+01

Equatorial radius (km)

25,559

Equatorial radius (Earth = 1)

4.0074

Mean density (gm/cm^3) 1.29

Mean distance from the Sun (km)

2,870,990,000

Mean distance from the Sun (Earth = 1)

Rotational period (hours) -17.9
Orbital period (years)

84.01

Mean orbital velocity (km/sec)

6.81

Orbital eccentricity 0.0461

Tilt of axis (degrees)

97.86

Orbital inclination (degrees)

0.774

Equatorial surface gravity (m/sec^2)

7.77

Equatorial escape velocity (km/sec)

21.30

Visual geometric albedo

Magnitude (Vo)

0.51

5.52

Mean cloud temperature -193C

Atmospheric pressure (bars)
Atmospheric composition
Hydrogen
Helium

83%
15%

Methane 2%

1.2

19.1914

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its not visible to the naked eye, and
became the first planet discovered with the use of a telescope. Uranus is tipped
over on its side with an axial tilt of 98 degrees. It is often described as rolling
around the Sun on its side.

Uranus Planet Profile

Mass: 86,810,300,000,000,000 billion kg (14.536 x Earth)
Equatorial Diameter: 51,118 km
Polar Diameter: 49,946 km
Equatorial Circumference: 159,354 km
Known Moons: 27
Notable Moons: Oberon, Titania, Miranda, Ariel & Umbriel more info
Known Rings: 13
Orbit Distance: 2,870,658,186 km (19.22 AU)
Orbit Period: 30,687.15 Earth days (84.02 Earth years)
Surface Temperature: -197 C
Discover Date: March 13th 1781
Discovered By: William Herschel

Size Of Uranus Compared To The Earth

Facts About Uranus

Uranus was officially discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781:
It is too dim to have been seen by the ancients. At first Herschel thought it was a
comet, but several years later it was confirmed as a planet. Herscal tried to have his
discovery named Georgian Sidus after King George III. The name Uranus was
suggested by astronomer Johann Bode. The name comes from the ancient Greek
deity Ouranos.

Uranus turns on its axis once every 17 hours, 14 minutes:

The planet rotates in a retrograde direction, opposite to the way Earth and most
other planets turn.

Uranus makes one trip around the Sun every 84 Earth years:
During some parts of its orbit one or the other of its poles point directly at the Sun
and get about 42 years of direct sunlight. The rest of the time they are in darkness.

Uranus Distance from the Sun

Uranus is often referred to as an ice giant planet:
Like the other gas giants, it has a hydrogen upper layer, which has helium mixed in.
Below that is an icy mantle, which surrounds a rock and ice core. The upper
atmosphere is made of water, ammonia and the methane ice crystals that give the
planet its pale blue color.

Uranus hits the coldest temperatures of any planet:

With minimum atmospheric temperature of -224C Uranus is nearly coldest planet
in the solar system. While Neptune doesnt get as cold as Uranus it is on average
colder. The upper atmosphere of Uranus is covered by a methane haze which hides
the storms that take place in the cloud decks.

Uranus has two sets of rings of very thin set of dark coloured rings:
The ring particles are small, ranging from a dust-sized particles to small boulders.
There are eleven inner rings and two outer rings. They probably formed when one or
more of Uranuss moons were broken up in an impact. The first rings were
discovered in 1977 with the two outer rings being discovered in Hubble Space
Telescope images between 2003 and 2005.

Uranus moons are named after characters created by William Shakespeare and
Alaxander Pope:
These include Oberon, Titania and Miranda. All are frozen worlds with dark surfaces.
Some are ice and rock mixtures. The most interesting Uranian moon is Miranda; it
has ice canyons, terraces, and other strange-looking surface areas.

Only one spacecraft has flown by Uranus:

In 1986, the Voyager 2 spacecraft swept past the planet at a distance of 81,500 km.
It returned the first close-up images of the planet, its moons, and rings.

Discovered By

William Herschel

Date of Discovery

13 March 1781

Orbit Size Around Sun (semi-major axis)

Metric: 2,870,658,186 km

English: 1,783,744,300 miles

Scientific Notation: 2.8706582 x 109 km (1.9189165 x 101 A.U.)
By Comparison: 19.189 x Earth

Perihelion (closest)

Metric: 2,734,998,229 km
English: 1,699,449,110 miles
Scientific Notation: 2.73500 x 109 km (1.828 x 101 A.U.)
By Comparison: 18.593 x Earth

Aphelion (farthest)

Metric: 3,006,318,143 km
English: 1,868,039,489 miles
Scientific Notation: 3.00632 x 109 km (2.010 x 101 A.U.)
By Comparison: 19.766 x Earth

Sidereal Orbit Period (Length of Year)

84.016846 Earth years

30,687.15 Earth days
By Comparison: 84.017 x Earth

Orbit Circumference

Metric: 18,026,802,831 km
English: 11,201,335,967 miles
Scientific Notation: 1.803 x 1010 km
By Comparison: 19.180 x Earth

Average Orbit Velocity

Metric: 24,477 km/h

English: 15,209 mph

Scientific Notation: 6.7991 x 103 m/s

By Comparison: 0.228 x Earth

Orbit Eccentricity

0.04725744
By Comparison: 2.828 x Earth

Orbit Inclination

0.77 degrees

Equatorial Inclination to Orbit

97.8 degrees (retrograde rotation) (retrograde rotation)

By Comparison: 4.173 x Earth

Mean Radius

Metric: 25,362 km
English: 15,759.2 miles
Scientific Notation: 2.5362 x 104 km
By Comparison: 3.9809 x Earth

Equatorial Circumference

Metric: 159,354.1 km
English: 99,018.1 miles
Scientific Notation: 1.59354 x 105 km
By Comparison: 3.9809 x Earth

Volume

Metric: 68,334,355,695,584 km3

Scientific Notation: 6.83344 x 1013 km3

By Comparison: 63.085 x Earth

Mass

Metric: 86,810,300,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg
Scientific Notation: 8.6810 x 1025 kg
By Comparison: 14.536 x Earth's

Density

Metric: 1.270 g/cm3

By Comparison: 0.230 x Earth

Surface Area

Metric: 8,083,079,690 km2

English: 3,120,894,516 square miles
Scientific Notation: 8.0831 x 109 km2
By Comparison: 15.847 x Earth

Surface Gravity

Metric: 8.87 m/s2

English: 29.1 ft/s2
By Comparison: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 91 pounds on
Uranus.

Escape Velocity

Metric: 76,968 km/h

English: 47,826 mph
Scientific Notation: 2.138 x 104 m/s
By Comparison: 1.911 x Earth

Sidereal Rotation Period (Length of Day)

-0.718 Earth days (retrograde)

-17.23992 hours (retrograde)
By Comparison: 0.72 x Earth

Effective Temperature

Metric: -216 C
English: -357 F
Scientific Notation: 57 K

Atmospheric Constituents

Hydrogen, Helium, Methane

Scientific Notation: H2, He, CH4
By Comparison: Earth's atmosphere consists mostly of N2 and O2.