Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and was the first planet to be discovered with the use of a telescope. Uranus’ most unique feature is that its axis sideways in comparison to other planets i.e. its north and south poles are in line with where other planets have their equators. Uranus is named after the Greek god of the sky.

Uranus Planet Profile

  • Circumference at Equator: 159,354.1 km
  • Average Diameter:  51,118 km
  • Mass: 86,810,300,000,000,000 billion kg (14.536 x Earth)
  • Average Distance from Sun: 2,870,658,186 km (19.22 AU)
  • Known Satellites: 27
  • Notable Satellites: Oberon, Titania, Miranda, Ariel and Umbriel
  • Length of Orbit: 30,687.15 Earth days (84.02 Earth years)

Facts about Uranus

  1. Uranus was discovered by William Herschel on the 13th of March 1781 who initially believed it was a comet
  2. William Herschel tried to have his discovery named Georgian Sidus after King George III
  3. The atmosphere of Uranus is composed mostly of Hydrogen and Helium with a small amount of Methane (H2, He and CH4)
  4. There are several different pronunciations of Uranus the most common being “u-ra-nus” followed by “ur-unus”
  5. On the surface of Uranus gravity would be 89% of that on Earth (however as a gas planet with a liquid centre Uranus does not have definable surface)
  6. The average surface temperature of Uranus is -224°C making it the coldest planet in the solar system
  7. Uranus’ moons are named after characters created by William Shakespeare and Alaxander Pope these include Oberon, Titania and Miranda
  8. The only spacecraft to visit Uranus is Voyager 2 which passed in 1986 passing at a distance of 81,500 km
  9. Uranus has two sets of rings, nine inner rings and two outer rings
  10. The first set of rings was discovered in 1977 and the second set was discovered in 2003 by the Hubble Space Telescope