The Planet Uranus - Seventh Planet From the Sun The Planet Uranus By John P. Millis, Ph.D Updated March 04, 2016. Discovery of Uranus The planet Uranus (pronounced either ū·rā′·nəs or ūr′·ə·nəs) is visible to the naked eye, and has therefore been watched by mankind for thousands of years. However, because it is so distant from us it moves much more slowly across the sky than the other planets visible from Earth . As a result, it wasn't identified as a planet until 1781 when Sir William Herschel , using a telescope, discovered that it was, indeed in orbit around our Sun . Curiously, Herschel initially insisted that this newly re-discovered object was in fact a comet . Though when pressed he made illusions to the fact that it may be more similar to objects like Jupiter or Saturn. Naming the 7th Planet from the Sun Herschel initially named the new planet Georgium Sidus (literally George's Star, but taken as George's Planet) in honor of Britain's newly minted King George III.

Unsurprising, however, this name was not met with the same warm reception as it had on the Isle of Britain. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World Therefore other names were suggested, including Herschel, in honor of its discoverer. Another suggestion was Neptune, which of course ended up getting used later. The name Uranus was suggested by Johann Elert Bode, which is the Latin translation of the Greek God Ouranos. The thinking went that Saturn was the father of Jupiter, so the next world out when be the father of Saturn: Uranus. This line of thinking was well received by the international astronomy community, and eventually became the sole name recognized for the planet in 1850. Orbit and Rotation Uranus has a not-insignificant eccentricity, giving it a spread in radial distance from the Sun of more than 150 million miles. But on average Uranus is about 1.8 billion miles from the Sun, orbiting the center of our solar system every 84 Earth-years.

The interior of Uranus (that is, the surface area below the atmosphere) rotates every 17 Earth-hours of so, while the atmosphere, with its intense winds makes it around the planet in as little as 14 hours. The most unique feature of the faint-blue world is the fact that it has a highly tilted orbit. At nearly 98 degrees with respect to the orbital plane, the planet appears to at times "roll" along its orbit. Structure Determining the structure of planets is a tricky business since we can't just drill deep inside and see what times out. We have to take measurements of what elements are present, typically using techniques such as reflection spectra, then using information such as its size and mass to estimate how much (and in what states) the various elements exist. While not all models agree on the details, the general consensus is that Uranus has three distinct layers: Rocky Core: With less than 4% of the planet's total mass the rocky core is relatively small. Mantel: At more than 90% of the Uranus's total mass, the mantel makes up the majority of the planet.

The primary molecules include water, ammonia and methane (among others) in a semi-ice-liquid state. Atmosphere: Containing the outer 20% of Uranus' radius, the atmosphere contains less than 4% of the planetary mass making it the least dense of the layers. It consists primarily of elemental hydrogen and helium. Rings Everyone knows about the rings of Saturn , but actually the outer four planets all have rings. Uranus was the second world discovered to have such phenomena. Like the brilliant rings of Saturn, those around Uranus are tiny individual particles of dark ice and dust. The material in these rings may have one been the building blocks of a nearby moon that was destroyed by impacts from asteroids , or perhaps even by gravitational interactions from the planet itself.

Uranus By the Numbers Equatorial Radius: 25,559 ± 4 km (about 4 Earth Radii) Polar Radius: 24,973 ± 20 km Mass: Approximately 8.6810 × 1025 kg(about 14.5 Earths) Volume: 6.833×1013 km3 (about 63 Earths) Average Distance from the Sun: 1.79 billion miles Surface Gravity (at Equator): 88.6% of Earth's gravity at the equator Rotational Period (length of a day on Uranus): 17 hours, 14 minutes, 24 seconds Orbital Period (length of a year on Uranus): 84.3 Earth Years Planet Uranus: Facts About Its Name, Moons and Orbit Planet Uranus: Facts About Its Name, Moons and Orbit By Charles Q.

Choi, Space.com Contributor | November 18, 2014 09:17pm ET MORE Uranus’ tilt essentially has the planet orbiting the Sun on its side, the axis of its spin is nearly pointing at the Sun. Credit: NASA and Erich Karkoschka, U. of Arizona Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and the first to be discovered by scientists. Although Uranus is visible to the naked eye, it was long mistaken as a star because of the planet’s dimness and slow orbit. The planet is also notable for its dramatic tilt, which causes its axis to point nearly directly at the sun. British astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus accidentally on March 13, 1781, with his telescope while surveying all stars down to those about 10 times dimmer than can be seen by the naked eye. One "star" seemed different, and within a year Uranus was shown to follow a planetary orbit. Uranuswas named after the Greek sky deity Ouranos, the earliest of the lords of the heavens. It is the only planet to be named after a Greek god rather than a Roman one.

Before the name was settled on, many names had been proposed for the new planet , including Hypercronius ("above Saturn"), Minerva (the Roman goddess of wisdom), and Herschel, after its discoverer. To flatter King George III of England, Herschel himself offered Georgium Sidus ("The Georgian Planet") as a name, but that idea was unpopular outside of England and George's native Hanover. German astronomer Johann Bode, who detailed Uranus' orbit, gave the planet its ultimate name. [ Related: How Do You Pronounce 'Uranus'? ] Physical characteristics Uranusis blue-green in color , the result of methane in its mostly hydrogen-helium atmosphere. The planet is often dubbed an ice giant, since 80 percent or more of its mass is made up of a fluid mix of water, methane, and ammonia ices. Unlike the other planets of the solar system, Uranus is tilted so far that it essentially orbits the sun on its side, with the axis of its spin nearly pointing at the star. This unusual orientation might be due to a collision with a planet-size body, or several small bodies , soon after it was formed.

This unusual tilt gives rise to extreme seasons roughly 20 years long, meaning that for nearly a quarter of the Uranian year, equal to 84 Earth-years, the sun shines directly over each pole, leaving the other half of the planet to experience a long, dark, cold winter. The magnetic poles of most planets are typically lined up with the axis along which it rotates, but Uranus' magnetic field is tilted, with its magnetic axis tipped over nearly 60 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. According to Norman F. Ness, et al, in an article in the journal Science, this leads to a strangely lopsided magnetic field for Uranus, with the strength of the field at the northern hemisphere's surface being up to more than 10 times that of the strength at the southern hemisphere's surface, affecting the formation of the auroras . Orbital characteristics Average distance from the sun: 1,783,939,400 miles (2,870,972,200 kilometers).

By comparison: 19.191 times that of Earth Perihelion (closest approach to the sun): 1,699,800,000 miles (2,735,560,000 km). By comparison: 18.60 times that of Earth Aphelion (farthest distance from sun): 1,868,080,000 miles (3,006,390,000 km). By comparison: 19.76 times that of Earth Composition & structure Atmospheric composition (by volume): 82.5 percent hydrogen, 15.2 percent helium, 2.3 percent methane Magnetic field: Magnetic pole tilt compared to rotational axis: 58.6 degrees Composition: The overall composition of Uranus is, by mass, thought to be about 25 percent rock, 60 to 70 percent ice, and 5 to 15 percent hydrogen and helium.

Internal structure: Mantle of water, ammonia and methane ices; core of iron and magnesium-silicate Orbit & rotation Axial tilt: 97.77 degrees, compared to Earth's 23.5 degrees Seasonal cycle & length: Approximately 21 years per season Orbital period: Approximately 84 Earth years Uranus' climate The extreme axial tilt Uranus experiences can give rise to unusual weather. As sunlight reaches some areas for the first time in years, it heats up the atmosphere, triggering gigantic springtime storms roughly the size of North America, according to NASA. Ironically, when Voyager 2 first imaged Uranus in 1986 at the height of summer in its south, it saw a bland-looking sphere with only about 10 or so visible clouds, leading to it to be dubbed "the most boring planet," writes astronomer Heidi Hammel in "The Ice Giant Systems of Uranus and Neptune," a chapter in " Solar System Update " (Springer, 2007).

It took decades later, when advanced telescopes such as Hubble came into play and the seasons changed, to see extreme weather on Uranus , where fast-moving winds can reach speeds of up to 560 miles (900 kilometers) per hour. The rings of Uranus The rings of Uranus were the first to be seen after Saturn's. They were a significant discovery, because it helped astronomers understand that rings are a common feature of planets, not merely a peculiarity of Saturn. Uranus possesses two sets of rings . The inner system of rings consists mostly of narrow, dark rings, while an outer system of two more-distant rings, discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope, are brightly colored, one red, one blue . Scientists have now identified 13 known rings around Uranus. Uranus' moons Uranus has 27 known moons . Instead of being named after figures from Greek or Roman mythology, its first four moons were named after magical spirits in English literature, such as William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock." Since then, astronomers have continued this tradition, drawing names for the moons from the works of Shakespeare or Pope.

Oberon and Titania are the largest Uranian moons, and were the first to be discovered, by Herschel in 1787. William Lassell, who was the first to see a moon orbiting Neptune, discovered the next two, Ariel and Umbriel. Then nearly a century passed before Miranda was found in 1948. Then, Voyager 2 visited the Uranian system in 1986 and found an additional 10 , all just 16 to 96 miles (26-154 km) in diameter — Juliet, Puck, Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Desdemona, Portia, Rosalind, Cressida and Belinda — and each roughly made half of water ice and half of rock. Since then, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories have raised the total to 27 known moons, and spotting these was tricky — they are as little as 8 to 10 miles (12 to 16 km) across, blacker than asphalt, and nearly 3 billion miles (4.8 billion km) away.

Between Cordelia, Ophelia and Miranda is a swarm of eight small satellites crowded together so tightly that astronomers don't yet understand how the little moons have managed to avoid crashing into each other. Scientists suspect there might still be more moons, closer to Uranus than any known. In addition to moons, Uranus may also have a collection of Trojan asteroids — objects that share the same orbit as the planet — in a special region known as a Lagrangian point. The first was discovered in 2013 , despite claims that the planet’s Langrangian point would be too unstable to host such bodies. Research & exploration NASA's Voyager 2 was the first and as yet only spacecraft to visit Uranus. It discovered 10 previously unknown moons, and investigated its unusually tilted magnetic field. In 2013, the Planetary Science Decadal Survey recommended NASA consider a mission to the icy planet. Additional reporting by Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor The butt of solar system jokes, Uranus is also a spectacular blue planet still hiding many scientific secrets. See how much you know: Uranus - Educational facts and history of the planet Uranus.

Uranus News Uranus Facts Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third largest (by diameter). Uranus is larger in diameter but smaller in mass than Neptune Planet Profile orbit : 2,870,990,000 km (19.218 AU ) from Su diameter : 51,118 km (equatorial) Careful pronunciation may be necessary to avoid embarrassment; say "YOOR a nus" , not "your anus" or "urine us". Uranus is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god. Uranus was the son and mate of Gaia the father of Cronus (Saturn) and of the Cyclopes and Titans (predecessors of the Olympian gods). Uranus, the first planet discovered in modern times, was discovered by William Herschel while systematically searching the sky with his telescope on March 13, 1781. It had actually been seen many times before but ignored as simply another star (the earliest recorded sighting was in 1690 when John Flamsteed cataloged it as 34 Tauri).

Herschel named it "the Georgium Sidus" (the Georgian Planet) in honor of his patron, the infamous (to Americans) King George III of England; others called it "Herschel". The name "Uranus" was first proposed by Bode in conformity with the other planetary names from classical mythology but didn't come into common use until 1850. Uranus has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2 on Jan 24 1986. Most of the planets spin on an axis nearly perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic but Uranus' axis is almost parallel to the ecliptic. At the time of Voyager 2's passage, Uranus' south pole was pointed almost directly at the Sun. This results in the odd fact that Uranus' polar regions receive more energy input from the Sun than do its equatorial regions. Uranus is nevertheless hotter at its equator than at its poles. The mechanism underlying this is unknown. Actually, there's an ongoing battle over which of Uranus' poles is its north pole!

Either its axial inclination is a bit over 90 degrees and its rotation is direct , or it's a bit less than 90 degrees and the rotation is retrograde . The problem is that you need to draw a dividing line *somewhere*, because in a case like Venus there is little dispute that the rotation is indeed retrograde (not a direct rotation with an inclination of nearly 180). Uranus is composed primarily of rock and various ices , with only about 15% hydrogen and a little helium (in contrast to Jupiter and Saturn which are mostly hydrogen). Uranus (and Neptune) are in many ways similar to the cores of Jupiter and Saturn minus the massive liquid metallic hydrogen envelope. It appears that Uranus does not have a rocky core like Jupiter and Saturn but rather that its material is more or less uniformly distributed. Uranus' atmosphere is about 83% hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane. Like the other gas planets, Uranus has bands of clouds that blow around rapidly. But they are extremely faint, visible only with radical image enhancement of the Voyager 2 pictures (right). Recent observations with HST (left) show larger and more pronounced streaks.

Further HST observations show even more activity. Uranus is no longer the bland boring planet that Voyager saw! It now seems clear that the differences are due to seasonal effects since the Sun is now at a lower Uranian latitude which may cause more pronounced day/night weather effects. By 2007 the Sun will be directly over Uranus's equator. Uranus' blue color is the result of absorption of red light by methane in the upper atmosphere. There may be colored bands like Jupiter's but they are hidden from view by the overlaying methane layer. Like the other gas planets , Uranus has rings. Like Jupiter's, they are very dark but like Saturn's they are composed of fairly large particles ranging up to 10 meters in diameter in addition to fine dust. There are 13 known rings, all very faint; the brightest is known as the Epsilon ring. The Uranian rings were the first after Saturn's to be discovered. This was of considerable importance since we now know that rings are a common feature of planets, not a peculiarity of Saturn alone. Voyager 2 discovered 10 small moons in addition to the 5 large ones already known.

It is likely that there are several more tiny satellites within the rings. Uranus' magnetic field is odd in that it is not centered on the center of the planet and is tilted almost 60 degrees with respect to the axis of rotation. It is probably generated by motion at relatively shallow depths within Uranus. Uranus is sometimes just barely visible with the unaided eye on a very clear night; it is fairly easy to spot with binoculars (if you know exactly where to look). A small astronomical telescope will show a small disk. There are several Web sites that show the current position of Uranus (and the other planets) in the sky, but much more detailed charts will be required to actually find it. Such charts can be created with a planetarium program . Uranus' Satellites Uranus has 27 named moons: Unlike the other bodies in the solar system which have names from classical mythology, Uranus' moons take their names from the writings of Shakespeare and Pope . They form three distinct classes: the 11 small very dark inner ones discovered by Voyager 2, the 5 large ones (right), and the newly discovered much more distant ones.

Most have nearly circular orbits in the plane of Uranus' equator (and hence at a large angle to the plane of the ecliptic ); the outer 4 are much more elliptical.

Uranus' Rings Distance Width Ring (km) (km) ------- -------- ----- Zeta 39,600 3,500 (formally 1986U2R) 6 41,840 1-3 5 42,230 2-3 4 42,580 2-3 Alpha 44,720 7-12 Beta 45,670 7-12 Eta 47,190 0-2 Gamma 47,630 1-4 Delta 48,290 3-9 Lambda 50,024 1-2 (formally 1986 U1R) Epsilon 51,140 20-100 Nu 67,300 3,800 (formally R/2003 U2) Mu 97,700 17,000 (formally R/2003 U1) (distance is from Uranus' center to the ring's inner edge) More about

 Uranus and its satellites Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun | Anne’s Astronomy News Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun.

It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. Uranus is a gas giant, but, together with Neptune astronomers sometimes place them in a separate category called “ice giants” because they contain more “ices” such as water, ammonia and methane, along with traces of hydrocarbons, than Jupiter and Saturn. Like the other giant planets, Uranus has a ring system and numerous moons. Both ice giants likely formed closer to the Sun than their present positions, and moved outwards after formation. Uranus revolves around the Sun once every 84 Earth years. Its average distance from the Sun is roughly 3 billion km (about 20 AU). The intensity of sunlight on Uranus is about 1/400 that on Earth. Because of discrepancies between the predicted and observed orbits, which were most likely due to the gravitational tug of an unseen planet, Neptune was discovered. The rotational period of the interior of Uranus is 17 hours, 14 minutes, clockwise (retrograde). As on all giant planets, its upper atmosphere experiences very strong winds in the direction of rotation.

At some latitudes, such as about two-thirds of the way from the equator to the south pole, visible features of the atmosphere move much faster, making a full rotation in as little as 14 hours. Uranus’s mass is roughly 14.5 times that of the Earth, making it the least massive of the giant planets. Its diameter is slightly larger than Neptune’s at roughly four times Earth’s. Uranus is the second least dense planet, after Saturn. This indicates that it is made primarily of various ices, such as water, ammonia, and methane. The total mass of ice in Uranus’s interior is between 9.3 and 13.5 Earth masses. Hydrogen and helium constitute only a small part of the total, with between 0.5 and 1.5 Earth masses. The remainder of the non-ice mass is accounted for by rocky material. Uranus consists of three layers: a rocky (silicate/iron-nickel) core in the center, an icy mantle in the middle and an outer gaseous hydrogen/helium envelope.

The core is relatively small, with a mass of only 0.55 Earth masses and a radius less than 20% of Uranus’s; the mantle comprises the bulk of the planet, with around 13.4 Earth masses, while the upper atmosphere is relatively insubstantial, weighing about 0.5 Earth masses and extending for the last 20% of Uranus’s radius. Uranus’s core has a temperature of about 5000 K. The ice mantle is not in fact composed of ice in the conventional sense, but of a hot and dense fluid consisting of water, ammonia and other volatiles. This fluid is sometimes called a water–ammonia ocean. The bulk compositions of Uranus and Neptune are very different from those of Jupiter and Saturn, with ice dominating over gases. The fluid interior structure of Uranus means that it has no solid surface. The gaseous atmosphere gradually transitions into the internal liquid layers. It has equatorial and polar radii of 25 559 ± 4 and 24 973 ± 20 km, respectively. Uranus’s internal heat appears markedly lower than that of the other giant planets.

One of the hypotheses suggests that when Uranus was hit by a supermassive impactor, which caused it to expel most of its primordial heat, it was left with a depleted core temperature. Another hypothesis is that some form of barrier exists in Uranus’s upper layers which prevents the core’s heat from reaching the surface. Although there is no well-defined solid surface within Uranus’s interior, the outermost part of Uranus’s gaseous envelope is called its atmosphere. It is the coldest planetary atmosphere in the Solar System, with a minimum temperature of 49 K (−224 °C). It has a complex, layered cloud structure, with water thought to make up the lowest clouds, and methane thought to make up the uppermost layer of clouds. The Uranian atmosphere can be divided into three layers: the troposphere, between altitudes of −300 and 50 km; the stratosphere, spanning altitudes between 50 and 4000 km; and the thermosphere/corona extending from 4,000 km to as high as 50,000 km from the surface. There is no mesosphere.

The composition of the Uranian atmosphere is different from the rest of the planet, consisting mainly of molecular hydrogen and helium. The third most abundant constituent is methane. Methane possesses prominent absorption bands in the visible and near-infrared making Uranus aquamarine or cyan in color. The abundances of less volatile compounds such as ammonia, water and hydrogen sulfide in the deep atmosphere are poorly known. Spectroscopy has uncovered traces of water vapor, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere, which can only originate from an external source such as infalling dust and comets. The troposphere is the lowest and densest part of the atmosphere and is characterized by a decrease in temperature with altitude. It is believed to possess a highly complex cloud structure. The troposphere is a very dynamic part of the atmosphere, exhibiting strong winds, bright clouds and seasonal changes. The outermost layer of the Uranian atmosphere is the thermosphere and corona, which has a uniform temperature around 800 to 850 K. The Uranian ionosphere is denser than that of either Saturn or Neptune, which may arise from the low concentration of hydrocarbons in the stratosphere.

The ionosphere is mainly sustained by solar UV radiation and its density depends on the solar activity. Uranus has a complicated planetary ring system. The rings are composed of extremely dark particles, which vary in size from micrometers to a fraction of a meter. Thirteen distinct rings are presently known, the brightest being the ε ring. All except two rings of Uranus are extremely narrow—they are usually a few kilometres wide. The rings are probably quite young; the dynamics considerations indicate that they did not form with Uranus. The matter in the rings may once have been part of a moon (or moons) that was shattered by high-speed impacts. The magnetic field is peculiar, both because it does not originate from the planet’s geometric center, and because it is tilted at 59° from the axis of rotation what results in a highly asymmetric magnetosphere. Neptune has a similarly displaced and tilted magnetic field, suggesting that this may be a common feature of ice giants. One hypothesis is that, unlike the magnetic fields of the other planets, which are generated within their cores, the ice giants’ magnetic fields are generated by motion at relatively shallow depths, for instance, in the water–ammonia ocean.

Uranus’s magnetosphere contains charged particles: protons and electrons with small amounts of hydrogen molecular ions. No heavier ions have been detected. Many of these particles probably derive from the hot atmospheric corona. The particle population is strongly affected by the Uranian moons that sweep through the magnetosphere leaving noticeable gaps. The particle population is also high enough to cause darkening or space weathering of the moon’s surfaces and rings. Uranus has relatively well developed aurorae, which are seen as bright arcs around both magnetic poles. Uranus’s aurorae seem to be insignificant for the energy balance of the planetary thermosphere. At ultraviolet and visible wavelengths, Uranus’s atmosphere is remarkably bland in comparison to the other gas giants. One proposed explanation for this dearth of features is that Uranus’s internal heat appears markedly lower than that of the other giant planets. The lowest temperature recorded in Uranus’s tropopause is 49 K, making Uranus the coldest planet in the Solar System. The visible southern hemisphere of Uranus can be subdivided into two regions: a bright polar cap and dark equatorial bands. A narrow band is the brightest large feature on the visible surface of the planet. It is called a southern “collar”.

The cap and collar are thought to be a dense region of methane clouds. Besides the large-scale banded structure, there are clouds, although there are differences between the clouds of each hemisphere. The northern clouds are smaller, sharper and brighter. Some small clouds live for hours, while at least one southern cloud may have persisted since Voyager flyby in 1986. At the equator winds are retrograde, which means that they blow in the reverse direction to the planetary rotation. Their speeds are from −100 to −50 m/s. Wind speeds increase with the distance from the equator. Closer to the poles, the winds shift to a prograde direction, flowing with the planet’s rotation. Windspeeds at −40° latitude range from 150 to 200 m/s. In the northern hemisphere maximum speeds as high as 240 m/s are observed near +50 degrees of latitude. Physical seasonal changes are happening in Uranus. Near the summer and winter solstices, Uranus’s hemispheres lie alternately either in full glare of the Sun’s rays or facing deep space.

The brightening of the sunlit hemisphere is thought to result from the local thickening of the methane clouds and haze layers located in the troposphere. Other changes in the southern polar region can be explained by changes in the lower cloud layers. Uranus has 27 known moons; the five main moons are Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. The Uranian system has a unique configuration among the planets because its axis of rotation is tilted sideways, nearly into the plane of its revolution about the Sun. Its north and south poles therefore lie where most other planets have their equators. This gives it seasonal changes completely unlike those of the other major planets. Each pole gets around 42 years of continuous sunlight, followed by 42 years of darkness. Near the time of the equinoxes, the Sun faces the equator of Uranus giving a period of day-night cycles similar to those seen on most of the other planets. Uranus reached its most recent equinox on December 7, 2007. One result of this axis orientation is that, on average during the year, the polar regions of Uranus receive a greater energy input from the Sun than its equatorial regions.

Nevertheless, Uranus is hotter at its equator than at its poles. The underlying mechanism which causes this is unknown. The reason for Uranus’s unusual axial tilt is also not known with certainty, but the usual speculation is that during the formation of the Solar System, an Earth-sized protoplanet collided with Uranus, causing the skewed orientation. Image Credit: Lawrence Sromovsky, (Univ. Wisconsin-Madison), Keck Observatory Uranus, Seventh Planet from the Sun | Wyzant Resources Uranus, god of the Sky (seventh planet from the Sun). Uranus is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god. Source Astrological sign pictured above Uranus was the mate of Gaia, and the father of Cronus ( Saturn ) and of the Cyclopes, and of the Titans (predecessors of the Olympian gods). According to some myths, he was born of Gaia; according to others, he came from nothing, or Chaos, himself. Regardless, he was the primoridial (meaning first to exist) being of the sky. Uranus's name came from (F)orsanoj, meaning "rain;" the sky was the rainmaker.

Every night, Uranus visited Gaia; from him she bore many children, but he hated them all. He put them in Tartarus, a place deep inside Gaia, where they caused her pain. She made a sickle and asked her children to castrate Uranus. Cronos, the youngest, agreed to do this task for his mother. Cronos threw his father's testicles in the sea; from them sprung Aphrodite . After he castrated his father, Cronos put the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires back into Gaia. Gaia and Uranus predicted that Cronos would be overthrown by his own son someday; in order to prevent this from happening, Cronos ate Zeus when he was born. His mother, Rhea, deceived Cronos, and Zeus was not destroyed as Cronos thought. Scientific facts about Uranus: Uranus, the first planet discovered in modern times, was discovered by William Herschel while systematically searching the sky with his telescope on March 13, 1781. It had actually been seen many times before but ignored as simply another star.

The earliest recorded sighting was in 1690 when John Flamsteed cataloged it as 34 Tauri. Herschel named it the Georgium Sidus (the Georgian Planet) in honor of his patron, the infamous (to Americans) King George III of England; others called it Herschel. The name Uranus was first proposed by German astronomer Johann Elert Bode (1747-1826) in conformity with the other planetary names from classical mythology, but it didn't come into common use until 1850. Herschel developed and improved a reflecting telescope and used it to discover the planet Uranus (March 13, 1781) and the moons of Uranus and of Saturn. Uranus is the third of the Gas Giant planets, and the first planet discovered in modern times (1781). It is also the first planet to be discovered with a telescope.

It is barely visible from the Earth without a telescope, which explains why it was not known as a planet to the ancients, and why it had been observed various times after the telescope had been invented without the observers realizing that it was a planet and not a star. Uranus has five large moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. There are more than ten small satellites and at least nine rings. Altogether, Uranus has 27 natural satellites. As with most of the planets, Uranus, too, has a very unique feature. It is the only planet that does not rotate perpendicularly to the ecliptic plane. This is to say that Uranus lies on its side, or tipped over, and its north pole points almost directly toward the sun for a half Uranian year, and its south pole points toward the Sun during the other half. This strange axis tilt produces some extreme seasonal effects. No one knows why Uranus is tilted in this way. Some have speculated that another planet-sized body might have altered the planets spin axis, but there is no direct evidence for such an occurrence. Until the Voyager made its probe in space, Uranus was known to have only five moons.

These moons are Miranda, Oberon, Titania, Umbriel and Ariel; but, more than ten small new moons were discovered within the orbit of Miranda. Uranus moons were named from Shakespeare plays and a poem written by Alexander Pope. Several of the moons are approximately 50% denser than water showing that some type of ice is present. This ice is believed to be either methane, ammonia, frozen water, or other types of compounds. All of the moons are dark gray in color which leads scientists to believe they could be covered with carbon soot or graphite. Sign up for free to access more Greek gods resources like . Wyzant Resources features blogs, videos, lessons, and more about Greek gods and over 250 other subjects. Stop struggling and start learning today with thousands of free resources! Uranus Facts - Interesting Facts about Planet Uranus Eris Uranus Facts Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun . It’s not visible to the naked eye, and became the first planet discovered with the use of a telescope. Uranus is tipped over on its side with an axial tilt of 98 degrees.

It is often described as “rolling around the Sun on its side.” 8.68 × 10^25 kg (15 Earths) Moons: 27 ( Miranda , Titania , Ariel, Umbriel & Oberon) Rings: Uranus size compared to Earth Uranus distance from the Sun and orbital eccentricity Facts about Uranus Uranus was officially discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781. It is too dim to have been seen by the ancients. At first Herschel thought it was a comet, but several years later it was confirmed as a planet. Herscal tried to have his discovery named “Georgian Sidus” after King George III. The name Uranus was suggested by astronomer Johann Bode. The name comes from the ancient Greek deity Ouranos. Uranus turns on its axis once every 17 hours, 14 minutes. The planet rotates in a retrograde direction, opposite to the way Earth and most other planets turn. Uranus makes one trip around the Sun every 84 Earth years.

During some parts of its orbit one or the other of its poles point directly at the Sun and get about 42 years of direct sunlight. The rest of the time they are in darkness. Uranus is often referred to as an “ice giant” planet. Like the other gas giants , it has a hydrogen upper layer, which has helium mixed in. Below that is an icy “mantle, which surrounds a rock and ice core. The upper atmosphere is made of water, ammonia and the methane ice crystals that give the planet its pale blue colour. Uranus hits the coldest temperatures of any planet. With minimum atmospheric temperature of -224°C Uranus is nearly coldest planet in the solar system. While Neptune doesn’t get as cold as Uranus it is on average colder. The upper atmosphere of Uranus is covered by a methane haze which hides the storms that take place in the cloud decks. Uranus has two sets of very thin dark coloured rings. The ring particles are small, ranging from a dust-sized particles to small boulders. There are eleven inner rings and two outer rings. They probably formed when one or more of Uranus’s moons were broken up in an impact.

The first rings were discovered in 1977 with the two outer rings being discovered in Hubble Space Telescope images between 2003 and 2005. Uranus’ moons are named after characters created by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. These include Oberon, Titania and Miranda. All are frozen worlds with dark surfaces. Some are ice and rock mixtures. The most interesting Uranian moon is Miranda; it has ice canyons, terraces, and other strange-looking surface areas. Only one spacecraft has flown by Uranus. In 1986, the Voyager 2 spacecraft swept past the planet at a distance of 81,500 km. It returned the first close-up images of the planet, its moons, and rings. Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends.

Error Journey to the Seventh Planet ( 1962 ) Approved | Earth sends a five-man team to explore the frozen planet Uranus, only to find a temperate forest and sultry women from their past on it, courtesy of an alien brain with evil designs. Director: Sidney W. Pink (as Sidney Pink) Writers: a list of 41 titles created 21 Aug 2013 a list of 426 titles created 25 Oct 2013 a list of 43 titles created 25 Jan 2014 a list of 272 titles created 03 Jan 2016 a list of 363 titles created 3 weeks ago Title: Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962) 4.8/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. One of only two survivors from a Martian expedition is so traumatized she doesn't remember the circumstances of the trip.

Director: Ib Melchior Aliens, contacting scientist Adam Penner, inform him that they have been on the moon for twenty thousand years, undetected due to their invisibility, and have now decided to annihilate ... See full summary » Director: Edward L. Cahn The first manned expedition to Mars is decimated by an unknown life form which stows away on the rescue ship. Director: Edward L. Cahn After copper miners discover part of the frozen tail of a prehistoric monster in Lapland, scientists inadvertently bring it back to life. Director: Sidney W. Pink Giant mollusk monsters attack California. Director: Arnold Laven A giant prehistoric praying mantis, recently freed from the Arctic ice, voraciously preys on American military at the DEW Line and works its way south. Director: Nathan Juran Three men and a woman crash-land in a deep crater in Antarctica, where they find a prehistoric world. Director: Virgil W. Vogel In 1960, a military test pilot is caught in a time warp that propels him to year 2024 where he finds a plague has sterilized the world's population. Director: Edgar G.

Ulmer When a spaceship lands on the moon, it is hailed as a new accomplishment, before it becomes clear that a Victorian party completed the journey in 1899, leading investigators to that mission's last survivor. Director: Nathan Juran When Ygor brings the Monster to Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein for care, Ludwig gets the idea of replacing the Monster's current criminal brain with a normal one. Director: Erle C. Kenton The juice of a rare Tibetan flower is the only thing that keeps Dr. Glendon from turning into a werewolf during a full moon. Director: Stuart Walker A mad scientist working in the South American jungle miniaturizes his colleagues when he feels his megalomania is threatened. Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack Edit Storyline A U.N. space expedition to the planet Uranus discovers a bizarrely familiar world right out of their own heads, featuring places and people the crew members recall from their past. It's all part of a fantasy created by the planet's master, a giant, pulsating brain that can also turn their worst thoughts into reality. Written by Jeremy Lunt <durlinlunt@acadia.net> You're in Space beyond Space.

See more » Genres: 10 March 1962 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Viaje al séptimo planeta See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia The Earth is run by the UN and there are no more wars. The date on the letter John Agar reads is 10th September, 2001 one day before 9/11. See more » Goofs When the astronauts enter the cave for the second time, Eric has red or pink paint on his legs, when disappears several shots later. See more » Quotes [first lines] Vocalist: There are no limits to the imagination and man's ability to make reality out of his visions is his greatest strength. Through this skill, he has been able to conquer time and space. The story you are about to see takes place after man has solved the complex mysteries of space travel. The year is 2001. Life is changed now. The planet Earth is no longer racked by wars and threats of annihilation. Man has learned to live with himself. The United Nations is the sole governing body of ...

Space Today Online - Solar System - Planet Uranus Seventh Planet from the Sun Voyager 2 image of Uranus The planet Uranus, with its moons and rings, orbiting as they do at the far reaches of our Solar System, is the third most distant planet from the Sun. Uranus is about 1.8 billion miles from the Sun. That is about 2.9 billion kilometers or just over 19 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. It takes slightly more than 84 years for Uranus to complete one circuit around the Sun. It is the seventh planet out from the Sun. Earth is third out from the Sun. Among the known planets of the Solar System, Uranus is the third largest in diameter. It's 31,763 miles (51,118 km) in diameter at the equator. Uranus is larger in diameter, yet smaller in mass than the planet Neptune. Its mass is 14.6 times that of Earth. The length of a Uranus day is 17.24 hours. Uranus is four times the size of Earth.

The planet does have a magnetic field, but it's tilted 60 degrees away from the axis upon which Uranus rotates making it unreadable from Earth. That tilt may mean the magnetic field is undergoing a planet-wide polarity shift. The name. The planet was seen first in 1690 by John Flamsteed, but he thought it was a star. He cataloged it as 34 Tauri. Later it became the first planet discovered in modern times when it was spotted by William Herschel as he searched the sky with his homemade telescope on March 13, 1781. He understood it was not a star and named it the Georgian Planet in honor of his patron, King George III of England. Others at that time called the planet Herschel. Because the name Uranus conformed with the other planet names from classical mythology, it came into common use around 1850. Uranus was the god of the heavens in ancient Greek mythology. He was the earliest supreme god. When pronouncing the name of the planet, the emphasis is on the first syllable. Say "YOUR uh nus." Moons of Uranus. We know Uranus has at least 27 moons .

Before the planet was visited by the spacecraft Voyager 2 on January 24, 1986, astronomers knew of only five. Voyager 2 discovered ten small moons. More have been found subsequently. Today, astronomers suggest there may be more tiny satellites among the planet's rings. The moons of Uranus are eye-openers. They have statuesque mountains towering more than ten miles high. Incredibly deep valleys. Vast plains, some with a mysterious dark surface. Moon diameters range from a bit fatter than 25 miles up to about 1,100 miles.They circle Uranus in orbits ranging from every eight hours to every 14 days. Some of the moons are very tiny. Uranus moons Umbriel (left) and Ariel (right) in 1986 Voyager 2 photos click to enlarge Voyager moons. The interplanetary probe Voyager 2 flew within 50,600 miles of Uranus' cloud tops on January 24, 1986, discovering a magnetic field and much ultraviolet light, known as dayglow.

Voyager 2 found 10 previously-unknown moons, the largest only 90 miles in diameter, bringing the total to 15. Astronomers previously had seen five large ice-and-rock moons. The innermost, Miranda, was found by Voyager to be one of the strangest bodies in the Solar System, with fault canyons up to 12 miles deep, terraced layers and mixed young and old surfaces. Titania was marked by huge faults and deep canyons. Ariel had the brightest and youngest surface of Uranian moons, with many deep valleys and broad ice flows. Dark-surfaced Umbriel and Oberon looked older. The moons Umbriel and Ariel each are about 75O miles in diameter. In NASA's 1986 pictures at right, Voyager 2 was about 346,000 miles from Umbriel. The Ariel picture is a mosaic of four images collected when Voyager 2 was about 8O,OOO miles from the moon New moonlet, in white circle, orbiting Uranus, bottom left International Astronomical Union illustration Lots and lots of moons. There are at least 156 moon in the Solar System.

With a total of 63, Jupiter currently has the most known natural satellites of any planet in the Solar System. Saturn is second with 47. Uranus has 27. Neptune has 13. Pluto has 3. Mars has 2. Earth has 1. The moon totals for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto can be expected to increase as more powerful telescopes become available in the future. Rings of Uranus. Uranus has more than a dozen known rings. The first ring discoveries were made in the 1970s. Later, while looking at the rings around Uranus in 1986, the Voyager spacecraft uncovered strange incomplete-circle partial formations now called ring arcs. Uranus' many rings and arcs varied in depth and density. Voyager found nine rings around Uranus, but they were quite different from Jupiter and Saturn rings. Some of Uranus' rings may be young remnants of a shattered moon. After passing Uranus, Voyager 2 sailed on toward a rendezvous within 3,000 miles of the planet Neptune in August 1989.

Hubble Space Telescope image of a Uranus ring The distant planet continues to surprise astronomers. Using the Hubble Space Telescope in 2005, astronomers uncovered another pair of giant rings girdling the planet. The largest of the newly-discovered rings is twice the diameter of the planet's previously known ring system. The Hubble discoveries suggest Uranus has a young, dynamic system of rings and moons. Unlike the famous rings around Saturn, the rings around Uranus are dim and dark because they are mostly dust rather than ice. Due to the extreme tilt of Uranus's axis, the rings appear to be nearly perpendicular relative to rings around other gas giant planets like Saturn. Lightning On Uranus. French scientists listening to radio signals recorded in 1986 at Uranus by the U.S. Voyager 2 spacecraft heard lightning bolts. The same kind of static crashes heard in an AM radio during an electrical storm on Earth were found among data transmitted back to Earth from Uranus. Apparently the lightning strikes on Uranus are more powerful than those on Earth, but nowhere near as strong as the magnificent electrical discharges on Saturn. The bolts are giant sparks of static electricity generated by turbulence in the Uranian atmosphere.

When electricity flows, it generates electromagnetic radiation. We call such energy a radio wave. A radio wave can be controlled by man using a transmitter to generate a signal. The signal can be modulated with sounds or made to carry other forms of information. On the other hand, when electromagnetic energy is not controlled, we call it noise or static. Lightning is merely a very large, uncontrolled burst of static. The Voyager spacecraft's receiver heard strong static as it sailed past Uranus. The chaotic signals received had the same characteristics as lightning noise. More about the Solar System . . . Star: Uranus Fun Facts for Kids Uranus has 11 rings, made of dust, ice and bits of rock. Fun Facts about Uranus for Kids Because itâs tipped, Uranus has seasons that last 20 years. Can you imagine 20 years of summer? That wouldnât be bad, but how about 20 years of winter? The temperature is almost always the same, whether its winter or summer because the planet is so far from the sun. Uranus has 11 rings, made of dust, ice and bits of rock. Uranus has 27 known moons .

They are named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare. Uranus has 27 known moons. Uranus Vocabulary Learn More All About Uranus, the Seventh Planet from Sun Watch this awesome video all about Uranus: A video documentary of the facts about Uranus. Uranus Questions & AnswersÂ Question 1: What is the temperature on Uranus? Answer 1: Uranus is so far from the Sun that it never gets very warm. The gas atmosphere also reflects back most of the sunlight that does reach the planet. Uranus is -357 degrees. Question 2Â Â How much would I weigh on Uranus? Answer 2: If you weigh 60 pounds on Earth, youâd weigh 41 pounds on Uranus. Question 3: Has Uranus got many many moons? Answer 3: Yes Uranus has 27 moons Question 4: How far away is Uranus from the Earth? Answer 4: Not too far at all, only joking, Uranus is a whopping 2.57 billion km from the Earth or in miles that is 1.6 billion. Question 5: What is the length of day in Uranus?

Answer 5: While the earth as we know is 24 hours, Uranus is 17.24 hours. Question 6:Â Is Uranus larger than Earth? Answer 6:Â Uranus is about 4 times larger than the Earth. Question 7: Who discovered Uranus? Answer 7: William Herschel discovered Uranus back on March 13th 1781. William was a British astronomer Question 8:Â How long is a year on Uranus? Answer 8: It takes Uranus a lot longer to rotate around the sun than it does Earth. Our year as we know is 365 days but Uranus takes 84 of our Earth years to complete its revolution around the sun.

Question: Which is the seventh planet from the sun?
Answer: Uranus