Published By: Ishani Karmakar

4 Astounding Facts About Uranus

Uranus, the enormous planet made of gas (and ice), is a fascinating location to explore.

Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, is third in size, fourth in mass, and ranks among the least dense objects in our Solar System. However, unlike every other planet in the Solar System, its name originates in Greek mythology rather than Roman.

Nevertheless, these rudimentary details hardly scrape the surface. Uranus' multiple moons, rings, and aquatic atmosphere all contribute to the planet's abundance of fascinating and unexpected features. We bet that at least one of these facts about this gas/ice behemoth will come as a shock to you.

There is no planet in the Solar System colder than Uranus

With a mean distance of 2.88 billion kilometres from the Sun, Uranus is the furthest planet in our solar system. Nonetheless, it's considerably closer to the Sun than Neptune's normal distance of 4.5 billion kilometres. This, however, doesn't change the fact that Uranus is considerably chillier than Neptune.  Uranus, on the other hand, has an average surface temperature of 76 K (-197.2 °C/-323 °F), with extremes down to 47 K (-226 °C/-375 °F) at the peaks of its clouds. Uranus differs from the other gas giants in the Solar System in that it radiates more heat than it receives from the Sun. Uranus' core has cooled to the point that it no longer radiates much energy, in contrast to the other major planets whose cores are extremely heated and so emit infrared radiation.

Uranus makes a tilted orbit around the Sun

Each planet in our solar system rotates on its axis at an inclination that is roughly the same as the Sun's. Axial tilt is a common feature of planetary surfaces, with one pole often pointing slightly away from the Sun. For instance, Earth's axis of rotation is skewed from the plane of the Sun by 23.5 degrees. Seasonal fluctuations occur on both Mars and Earth because of their comparable axial tilts of around 24 degrees.

Yet Uranus has an incredible 99-degree axial tilt! In other words, Earth is tilting to one side as it rotates. As they orbit the Sun, all the planets take on the appearance of a spinning top, but Uranus is more reminiscent of a rolling ball.

The length of a season on Uranus is equivalent to 42 Earth years.

Uranus has a relatively short sidereal day, lasting just around 17 hours. Yet Uranus's tilt is so great that it almost always has one pole towards the Sun and the other facing away from it. This indicates that a day at Uranus's north pole takes 84 Earth years, or half a Uranian year.

If you could go to the north pole of Uranus, you would be able to see the Sun's rising and whole 42-year orbit. In the end of this seemingly endless "summer," the Sun would eventually set. After then, there would be 42 years of night, or one "winter" season on Uranus.

Uranus is surrounded by rings

The rings of Saturn are the most well-known in the entire universe. They're bright, they spread far, and they're easy to spot. A simple backyard telescope might be sufficient for spotting them. In reality, however, each of ice giants has its own unique ring system, with Uranus' being the second most spectacular in the Solar System.