ULTRA UNIQIUE URANUS! By Olivia Rodwell

Where is Uranus in the solar system? Uranus is the 7th planet from the sun in the solar system It is next to Saturn and Neptune ( My Very Excellent Mouse Jacob Sat Under Nachos) Uranus is the third biggest planet in the solar system.

Colour, Size, Atmosphere Uranus is a bright blue/green colour which it gets from the methane in its atmosphere. The diameter of Uranus is 31,763 miles. If you were to take a walk around Uranus-this would be challenging since the planet has no solid surface-you would travel 99,018 miles. Uranus weighs 86 septillion kilograms, (just under one trillion trillion trillion!).

Colour, size and atmosphere The atmosphere of Uranus is cold but near the centre it is very hot. Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is a gas giant, the atmosphere is made up of methane, hydrogen and helium. It is a very windy planet.

Temperature The atmosphere of Uranus is very cold and the coldest of all the planets, around -214°C. However, near the centre it is very, very hot. Approximately 4,982°C. Here on Earth, in the U.K the average temperature is 8-11°C. When methane gas is squeezed under pressure, tiny diamonds can be produced. People think it may rain diamonds on Uranus!

Orbit, moons and rings. Uranus has 27 moons and one of them is called Miranda. It takes 84 earth years to travel once round the sun. Uranus has a system of rings made up of dust and rocks. Astronomers found the first rings in 1977. People believe when the moons are hit by rocks, dust and stones fly off and become part of the rings.

The discovery of Uranus Uranus was the first planet to be discovered using a telescope by William Herschel in 1781. Nearly 250 years ago! Herschel named the planet George’s star after the British king, George lll. The planet was later renamed Uranus after the ancient Greek god of the sky.

Fascinating facts All of Uranus’s moons are named after characters in Shakespeare’s play ‘ A Midsummer night’s dream.’ Uranus cannot be seen from Earth without using a telescope. Uranus is tilted on its side, so it rotates the opposite way to all the other planets. This is because it was hit by another earth size object with so much force it changed its position.