Uranus By Nick Prieston

Discovery William Herschel March 13, 1781

Distances 7 th planet from Sun 2.88 billion km from Sun 2.57 billion km from Earth

Measurements Mass: x10 10 kg Volume: x10 13 km 3 Density:1,270 g/cm 3 Gravity: 8.87 m/s 2 ; 0.86 of Earth Would sink in water

Orbit and Rotation 1 Urasian year= 84 Earth years 1 Urasian day= 17 Earth days, 14 minutes

Atmospheric Composition 83% Hydrogen 15% Helium 2% Methane

Temperature Range Uranus: -153˚C – (-218˚C) Earth: 14˚C – 15˚C

Methane Metallic hydrogen Helium Ice Looks like a blue-green planet with no defining features on the outside. Has a soft edge to it, and has thirteen rings surrounding it. Tilted on its axis, so it orbits and rotates on its side. Composition

Weather 900 km/h winds blow on Uranus when the Sun shines on the equator. These winds blow into storms the size of North America and happen every 21 years, when the seasons change. Uranus is tilted at 98°, so every season lasts 21 years. The weather is mostly separated into bands around the planet, similar to Jupiter and Saturn.

Rings Uranus has 13 rings which are very dark and made of large rocks and fine dust.

Moons Uranus has 27 moons, but the five largest are Miranda, Ariel, Titania, Oberon, and Umbriel. These are so large that if they orbited the Sun, they would be dwarf planets. Miranda was discovered in 1948 and has a mashed up surface. Scientists speculate on what caused it. Ariel was discovered in Its surface has valleys, as well as sillicate rock and water ice. Umbriel, also discovered in 1851, is very dark. It has a 90 mile long golden ring along its equator, and scientists cannot figure out why. Oberon and Titania were discovered in 1787 were discovered by William Herschel. Oberon has craters all over its surface and is made of ice and rock, while Titania has fault lines running all over its surface.

Water There is ice under a hydrogen ocean, as liquid water could not possibly exist on Uranus.

What would happen to you? First of all, you would not be able to land on Uranus at all, since there is no solid surface on it. However, if you were to take a boat ride on the hydrogen ocean, you would choke on the methane air, if your body has not already froze to death in the -218°C temperatures.

Fun Facts With temperatures as cold as -218°C, Uranus is the coldest planet in the Solar System. At 1,270 g/cm 3 it is also the second least dense. This means it has 89% less powerful gravity than Earth’s. Uranus is tilted on its side, so one pole faces the Sun for 42 years, while the other pole is plunged into darkness for 42 years. You can see bright bands of storms that wrap around Uranus like they do on Saturn and Jupiter, but only with infrared light. In visible light, it looks like a blue/green ball with no rings. However, Uranus has 13 rings that are very dark and formed recently. You can see Uranus with the naked eye, but you have to know what you are looking for, and the skies must be very dark.

Bibliography Fraser, Cain. Universetoday.com. uranus/ 2008http:// uranus/ NASA.gov Fraser, Cain. Universetoday.com. moons/ 2008http:// moons/ Howell, Elizabeth. Space.com http:// Fraser, Cain. Universetoday.com. interesting-facts-about-uranus/ 2008http:// interesting-facts-about-uranus/