Ten Space facts about Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet that orbits the sun and is also one of the coldest planets in the solar system.

The name "Uranus" is derived from the Greek god of the sky.

It is as old as 4.503 billion years approximately.

There's much controversy regarding its formation.

The chemical composition of the planet is thought to be the reason behind the debate.

Going into details, the formation, according to NASA, was due to the gravitational pull, which led the swirling dust and gas to gather, and a new planet was born.

Around 4.5 billion years ago, the planet was close to the sun.

Gradually, around 4 billion years ago, it moved to the outer solar system, thus becoming the seventh planet to revolve around the sun.

Below ten facts are listed, which are present with exciting and unique features about the planet.

1. Uranus

It was the first planet to be spotted through a telescope in 1781.

William Herschel discovered the Ice Giant planet while he was surveying stars of magnitude 8 (to say the least). Initially, it was thought to be a comet or a star.

After two years of observation, it was declared a planet as per the astronomer Johann Elert Bode.

2. Uranus

It is different from other planets because it rotates on its side and is therefore also called a "sideways planet."

The axis of the planet points towards the sun.

In other words, the orientation of the poles of the planet is perpendicular to the plane in which the planets revolve.

The reason might be that after its formation, it collided with a planet-like celestial body or various smaller bodies.

3. Uranus

This has a total of 27 moons, and the intriguing fact about them is that each of them is named after characters in literature, i.e., from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.

Two of the moons, namely Oberon and Titania was christened by William Herschel in 1787.

The christening of three other moons was continued by William Lassell in 1851, followed by Gerard Kuiper in the year 1948.

4. Uranus

It has a total of thirteen rings.

The inner rings are dark, narrow, and gray, while the outer ones are brightly colored.

Belts of fine dust surround the larger rings.

5. The planet Uranus

It is blue-green in color.

The hue owes to the gas methane (2%), which is present in a smaller amount.

The gas absorbs the red portion of the sunlight, resulting in the blue-green color.

Other chemical composition of the atmosphere includes molecular hydrogen and atomic helium.

The two gases roughly occupy 83% and 15%, respectively.

6. No spacecraft

It has been able to venture into Uranus nearby except Voyager 2.

The reason being the extreme temperature and pressure of the planet.

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft that orbits the planet.

The spacecraft discovered ten new moons and two new rings.

7. The metal uranium

This was named after the planet Uranus by the discoverer Martin Heinrich Klaproth.

8. Uranus

It takes 17 hours to complete its rotation.

In other words, a day in Uranus equals seventeen hours which is seven hours less than that of earth.

Besides, it takes 84 earth years to traverse its orbit around the sun.

9. Uranus

This like Neptune is called an ice-giant which is unlike the planets Jupiter and Saturn, known as gas giants.

Apart from hydrogen, helium, and methane, Uranus is also composed of elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and carbon.

The percentage of ice cores on the planet is much more than the percentage of gases present.

That is the reason behind its being called an Ice-giant.

10. The atmosphere of Uranus

It has a minimum temperature of -224°C and is closely the coldest planet in the entire solar system.

Logically, Neptune should have been the coldest planet, but the distance from the sun is not the only factor in deciding the temperature.

Various other factors like the physical or chemical features of the planet add up to its being called the "nearly coldest planet."

To wrap up,

Thus, you have got a clear idea about the planet Uranus by consulting this article.

You have learned different things about its origin, chemical composition, age.

Apart from that, these ten interesting space facts, specifically about the planet Uranus have helped you to trace the origin of its name, how and when it was discovered, the different rings, and the moons.

It has also provided you with causes and explanations of the various facts as is expected from scientific analysis.