Facts about Uranus for Kids: Uranus has the coldest temperatures of all of the planets, hitting as low as -224 degrees C. Uranus has a tilted axis and it’s thought that a collision with another large celestial object was the cause of it. To view the planet, one must, however, ensure that the darkness of the night sky is not subject to light pollution. 3. Go and read them – these facts will astound you as much as they would astound your kids! The rocky substance on the moon is thought to be made of carbonaceous matter. It has an equatorial diameter of 51,000 km and a polar diameter of 49,900 km. Uranus has the coldest atmosphere in the solar system and it’s not hard to see why. This kind of extreme temperature difference creates seasons as long as 20 years. The old theory was that Uranus, Neptune, and the Saturn and Jupiter cores were created by pulling in small floating objects from space around it. The last of these 27 moons was discovered in 2003. Cold, windy Uranus looks like a planet on its side. Uranus is icy and burning hot, with extreme seasons. The name was, however, not widely accepted and was finally dropped in favor of Uranus. Experts believe that this tilt was the result, literally, of several punches to the planet and not just one big collision. Neptune, however, which is almost similar in size of Uranus, emits 2.6 times the heat it receives from the Sun. But the sun is far away from Uranus, so the furnace in the core of Uranus probably plays a much larger role in keeping the planet warm. 26. There’s a lot more to learn about fascinating Uranus and its five major rocky moons: Miranda, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, and Oberon. He had been surveying stars, including those that were ten times dimmer than visible stars. 12. 20. 3. The moons around Uranus are all thought to have been formed from the accretion disk around the planet. Apart from it’s slightly odd and funny name, what else is there to know about this beautiful planet? But you can’t see Uranus. At... Uranus turns on its axis once every 17 hours, 14 minutes. Fun Facts about the Planet Uranus. Now, there are different theories that explain the inability of Uranus to emit the heat from its core. Near the core, it heats up to 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit (4,982 degrees Celsius). The funny thing is this makes Uranus the first planet to have been discovered in modern times! While Neptune, which is farther away, has the coldest average temperature, Uranus goes into the books for the lowest recorded temperatures. After the discovery, Herschel suggested Georgium Sidus (meaning Georgian Planet in Latin) for its name to honor King George III. In 2009, the possibility of extending the space mission of the Cassini spacecraft (at the time studying Saturn) to Uranus was discussed but was never actualized. The atmosphere is made up of 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, and 2% methane. 14 Interesting Facts About Uranus Planet The third largest planet in the solar system, Uranus, looks majestic in its beautiful greenish – blue color. He was the father of Saturn. The earliest of such exploration was possibly done by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus in 128 BC. The atmosphere is made up of 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, and 2% methane. The resulting phenomenon is days in either pole that lasts 84 Earth years. The planet’s blue appearance is due to the absorption of red light by methane, which then scatters away blue light. The planet’s blue appearance is due to the absorption of red light by methane, which then scatters away blue light. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. 1. These included Hypercronius (which means ‘above Saturn’) and even the dreadful Georgium Sidus (meaning ‘The Georgian Planet’) with which Herschel wanted to flatter the then-King of England George III. Uranus, however, is named after the Greek god of the sky, Ouranos or Uranus. The planet has, therefore, been spotted multiple times by pre-modern and ancient astronomers who generally mistook it for a distant star due to its relatively low luminosity. Miranda is made of ice that may consist of carbon dioxide and ammonia. Here are some other interesting facts about Uranus, the oddball planet, that we bet will fascinate you. Uranus Appears Blue Uranus has a blue appearance that makes the study of atmospheric patterns much more difficult compared to Saturn and Jupiter. This is easier to understand if you think about how large Uranus is. This is why there has been no mention of Uranus sightings before William Herschel saw it through his telescope in 1781. It’s over 19 times further away from the sun than the Earth is! 23. Uranus is the \"butt\" of more than a few jokes and witty (and not so witty) puns, but it's also a frequent destination in various fictional stories, such as the video game Mass Effect and TV shows like Doctor Who. The Earth, as we know, spins at an angle of 23 degrees. 9. Because of the presence of icy layers, it is also known as the Ice Planet. The seventh planet from out Sun, Uranus is … This may have happened at the beginning of the solar system when the moons of Uranus were still balls of gas. The unexpected observation is due to the unique properties of its core, thought to have cooled down at some point. 5. 11 Fun Facts About Uranus For Kids Jack Bennett January 16, 2019 Blog No Comments Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun, and wasn’t discovered until 1781 with the help of telescopes, as it was too dim to have been spotted by ancient civilisations … Wind speeds on giant planets can be as much as 15 times stronger than winds on Earth. The rings of Uranus are thought to have formed around 600 million years ago from the collision of moons or other big celestial objects. Facts about Uranus Uranus was officially discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781. When ancient astronomers first observed Uranus, they mistook it for a star. The exploration of Uranus has been solely through telescopes and the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986, with no other... 2. Uranus is located at a distance of about 2.88 billion km or 19.2 AU from the Sun. Most importantly, one must also know where to look since the night sky might be a bit overwhelming for an amateur. Thankfully Herschel’s sycophantic attempts to name Uranus was not popular, or we wouldn’t have ‘your-anus’ in our midst anymore! For example, if you were to fall off your spacecraft over Uranus, you’d probably find yourself half-falling and half-swimming through the planet’s atmosphere. For comparison, the axial tilt of Mars is 24 degrees, and Earth’s axial tilt is about 23.5 degrees while that of Uranus is 98 degrees. In other words, a 10 feet dunk on Earth would equate to an 11 feet dunk on Uranus. BY David W Brown. Uranus is a giant planet. Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and the third-largest planet in our solar system. It took some time for others to confirm that Uranus was a planet because it follows a planetary orbit. 4. Uranus is too dim for ancient civilizations to have seen it. At least, it’s not visible to the naked eye even though it is the third-largest planet in our solar system and four hundred times the size of the earth! Interesting facts about Uranus. It is possible to see Uranus … Temperatures are freezing -153 degrees C to -218 degrees C in the deeper troposphere where the clouds are. Uranus is slightly larger in diameter than its neighbor Neptune, yet smaller in mass. It is the second least dense planet; Saturn is the least dense of all. The color of Uranus is blue due to the fact that it has an atmosphere made up of water, ammonia, and methane. In fact, Uranus has a thick, smoggy atmosphere that becomes denser the deeper you go. If one stood on either pole of the planet, one would probably and experience 42 years of sunlight and 42 years under cover of darkness. Both the planet you want to visit and the starting point are in constant motion, which means that a lot of effort has to go into the planning of such trips. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2020 worldatlas.com, The 10 Coldest Cities In The United States. Uranus is one of the four planets in the solar system that is a gas planet. If you look in the direction of Uranus through a telescope, you will see a bluish-greenish disk. If the mass of all the moons around the planet were added up, it probably would not match the mass of Neptune’s largest moon, Triton. All Rights Reserved. 1. Scientists also believe that oceans of liquid water may exist at the mantle-core boundary of both Oberon and Titania. The planet’s color comes from the 2 percent methane gas in its atmosphere, along with mostly hydrogen (83 percent) and some Helium (15 percent). The mean density of the planet ~ 1.27 g/cm3, and the mass of Uranus is 8.68×1025 kg (~ 14.5 times more massive than Earth). This was the first planet to be discovered using a telescope. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. But the icy winds of Uranus can uproot trees, dislodge houses and do a lot more damage in seconds than we’ve seen on Earth. The axial tilt of Uranus means that one of its poles is always facing the sun at any given point. 7. The vessel collected valuable information about the planet and also took numerous photographs of the planet. Uranus was the first planet to be discovered with the help of a telescope. Uranus and Venus turn in a retrograde direction which is … By Benjamin Elisha Sawe on November 6 2019 in Environment. Something really big – many times bigger than the earth – may have crashed into Uranus a long time ago and thrown the planet on its side. I thought it would be fun to take a closer look at one of the planets in our Solar System so here are 10 random facts about Uranus. However, the rings are not as prominent as those around Saturn. The British astronomer thought it was a comet or a star. Uranus facts!! Uranus was the Greek god of the sky and was married to Mother Earth. Uranus was the first ever planet to be discovered with the help of a telescope. If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content. Uranus is the 7 th planet away from the Sun, and by diameter, is the third largest. Uranus has only received one visit by a spacecraft. Since ancient times it was not recognized due to its dimness and slow orbit. 2. When he looked through the telescope and saw a … 16. 42. © 2020 TheFactFile.Org. It was discovered in December 13, 1781 by … Ready? The rings are made up of dark particles that vary significantly in size. 2. You need to have a telescope in order to see it, which also makes Uranus the first planet which was discovered the use of a telescope. Despite being the seventh most distant planet from the sun and over a billion miles away from the Earth, Uranus can still be viewed with unaided eyes. While other planets rotate on their axis with a tilt relative to the sun, the axial tilt of Uranus is far more pronounced. It is the only planet that takes its name from Greek (rather than Roman) mythology. 11. Uranus is the 3rd largest planet in the solar system. In the heart of the icy smog of the planet is rock that is about the size of the earth. Uranus is too dim for ancient civilizations to have seen it. “Uranus orbits the Sun every 84 Earth years.”. Uranus was the first planet to be officially discovered using technology. Nearly all the planets in the solar system get their names from Roman Mythology. However, here’s 20 facts about Uranus that we think you’ll find interesting: Uranus is the third-largest planet in our solar system. Interesting Facts About Uranus for Kids. No planet other than Uranus has such a screwball way of spinning around the sun! Other planets were visible to the naked eye, so they were discovered before astronomical inventions were made. 18. But do you know, before Sir William Herschel, it was not recognized as a planet? It is the seventh planet from the Sun (Order of the... 2. Currently, NASA is evaluating the possibility of future missions to Uranus and Neptune to help in the upcoming Planetary Decadal Survey. Traveling to planets such as Uranus, on the other hand, could mean that one has to wait a few decades for the ideal conditions. This contrasts Triton, which was captured by Neptune’s gravitational pull. The density of Uranus is one of the lowest in the Solar System with a mean density of 0.0459 lbs/in3. 24. Uranus was the husband of Gaia, the goddess of the Earth. The planet orbits about 1.79 billion miles away from the sun. A lot of other names had been rejected in the naming of Uranus. It has a mass of 8.68 x 10 25 kg. It is a bright bluish-green color which it gets from the methane in its atmosphere. Uranus gets its blue-green color from m… 17. The origin of the particles forming the rings might have been from one or a number of its moons shattered due to high-speed impact. Uranus Facts – 12 Interesting Facts about Uranus The Name Uranus is Over 2,500 Years Old. Several astronomers also confirmed his observations and led him to conclude that he had indeed discovered a new planet. It seems that Johann Bode, the German astronomer that settled on the name Uranus, may not have liked how the Latin name for the father of Saturn, Caelus, sounded. Planet Uranus facts The mean radius of Uranus is ~ 25,362 km (~ 3 times that of Earth). 21. What this means is, there’s probably not a lot of weather activity going on deeper into the giant planet of Uranus. Here are some Uranus facts for children. November 15, 2017. Uranus has a total of 27 moons, each of which is named after characters in the works of Alexander Pope, William Shakespeare. The tilt of Uranus may have been caused by a collision. It is about four times as wide as Earth.