Uranus is the third largest planet in the Solar System. It is a giant ball of gas and liquid and forms the farthest planet that can be seen without a telescope. Uranus is the seventh planet in our solar system, in terms of its distance from the sun. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft which has been to Uranus, in the year 1986. Like Saturn, the planet also has rings on its surface. Uranus is tilted on its side in such a way, that its axis lies nearly in level with its path around the sun. To know some more interesting and fun facts about Uranus, read below.
Interesting & Fun Facts About Uranus
- Sir William Herschel was the first person to discover Uranus, on March 13, 1781. However, he thought that he had discovered a new comet.
- The distance between Uranus and Sun is almost twice the distance from Sun to Saturn.
- Uranus has a pale blue color, which is caused by the methane in its atmosphere that filters out red light.
- Uranus orbits the Sun on its side. Its South Pole is pointed towards Earth. The angle of the tilt of its axis is 98 degrees.
- Like Saturn, Uranus also has rings. The rings are made of ice and small rock particles, which are so faint that they appear as black as charcoal.
- Uranus rotates from east to west, like Venus. This is opposite from the spin of Earth.
- Uranus has 21 moons. Five of these moons are large, while the rest are smaller.
- Uranus' moons orbit the planet just like a Giant Wheel in a fair. The satellites would go over and under the planet
- A year on Uranus is equivalent to 84 Earth years.
- A day on Uranus is shorter than a day on Earth, at about 17 hours long.
- Uranus is the only planet with a unique tilt of 98 degrees. Thus, its seasons are extreme. When the Sun rises at its north pole, it stays up for 42 Earth years and then when it sets, the North Pole is in darkness for the next 42 Earth years.
- The atmospheric composition of Uranus comprises of hydrogen, helium, and methane.
- The force of gravity at the surface of Uranus is about 90 percent of that at the surface of Earth. Thus, an object that weighs 100 pounds on Earth would weigh about 90 pounds on Uranus.
- As per mythology, Uranus was the lord of the skies and husband of Earth. He was also the King of the Gods, until his son Saturn overthrew him.
- Astrologers believe Uranus might have an ocean of water beneath its clouds. It has a large rocky core, and because of tremendous pressure, could possibly contain trillions of large diamonds.
