GENERAL INFORMATION ON URANUS

The seventh planet from the Sun is Uranus in solar system, it is a great, icy planet which has 11 rings and 22 known moons Uranus’ orbit is encircle and its color is blue due to existence of methan (CH4) which absorbs red light in its atmosphere Uranus Covered with  clouds.

ROTATIONAL AXIS

Rotational axis in Uranus is slanted very much on its side (97,90^o) it means it rotates along its orbital path but other planets rotate with their axis nearly perpendicular to the plane of their orbit and therefore in Uranus there are extreme seasons and there is  a debate over which poles of Uranus is its north pole and this will make a question is Uranus rotating in a retrograde orbit (like venus) or not (like the other planets)?

SIZE

The diameter of Uranus is about (31 690 miles or 51, 118 km) and it is four times more than Earth’s diameter.

After Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is largest planet in our solar system.

MASS AND GRAVITY

Mass of Uranus is around(8.68.1025 )

kg and it is 14 times more than Earth’s mass but its gravity is %91 of Earth’s grarity and this is due to largeness of this planet as we know gravity is proportional to mass and inverse of radius squared.

One whose weight is 100 pound in Uranus would be 91 pounds.

LENGTH OF DAY AND YEAR ON URANUS

One day in Uranus is 17.9 Earth hours and one year is 84.07 years in Earth (To orbit the Sun once)

URANUS’ ORBIT AND DISTANCE FROM THE SUN

Distance from the Sun in Uranus is over 19 times more than distance of Earth from the Sun (in average is 19.18 A: U).

At farthest distance  in its orbit (at  aphelion) it is 1,850,000,000 miles or 3,003,000,000 km from the Sun and closest distance (perihelion) it is 1,700,000,000 miles or 2,739,000,000 km from the Sun.

TEMPERATURE

The average temperature on Surface of Uranus cloud is – 350^oF or

 (59 k).Uranus’ radiation of heat is little compare to Jupiter Saturn and Neptune.

PLANE TARY COMPOSITION AND ATMOSPHERE

Uranus has molten core and is frozen gaseous planet its atmosphere is made of %83 hydrogen, %2 methan and %15 helium.

RINGS

Uranus has 11 narrow & weakrings made of rock and dust they circle in very elliptical orbits and are only fraction of the size of saturn’s rings and discovered in 1977.

MOONS

There are 5 large moons and many small moons 2 of large moons discovered by wm. Herschel in 1781 and 2 by wm Lassell in 1851 and one by G. kuiper in 1948 and small ones discovered much later

DISCOVERY OF URANUS

William Herschel a British astronomer discovered Uranus on 13 MARCH 1781 and also discovered two moons of Uranus called Ttitania and Oberon and some other moons of Saturn.

URANUS, NAME AND SYMBOL

Uranus first named by william Herschel as Georgium sidus to honor the king George III of England in 1781 and later by suggestion of a German astronomer Called Johann Elert Bode the name changed to ancient mythologicol god of the sky. ouranus.

SPACE CRAFT VISITS

NASA’S voyager 2 visited Uranus on Jan 24, 1986.

URNAUS ROTATIONAL TILT AND EXTREME SEASONS

Rotational axis in Uranus is slanted much on its side (97^o_­, 90^o) it means it rotates along its orbital path but other planets rotate with their axis nearly perpendicular to the plane of their orbit and therefore in Uranus there are extreme seasons.