Uranus
Also known as Sol VII, Georgium Sidus, Sol h, the Georgian Planet, Georgian Planet, the, 34 Tauri, Planet Uranus, Sol 7
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or volatiles. The planet's atmosphere has a complex layered cloud structure and has the lowest minimum temperature () of all the Solar System's planets. It has a marked axial tilt of 82.23° with a retrograde rotation period of 17 hours and 14 minutes. This means that in an 84-Earth-year orbital period around the Sun, its poles get around 42 years of continuous sunlight, followed by 42 years
AI overview
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and a gaseous ice giant with a cyan color, composed mainly of water, ammonia, and methane in a supercritical state, making it one of the coldest planets in our Solar System. It matters as a scientific subject because its extreme axial tilt of 82.23° and unusual rotation create distinctive seasonal patterns unlike any other planet, providing insights into planetary formation and the diversity of worlds in our Solar System.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Planet.name
- Uranus
- Planet.symbol
- 24px|⛢|class=skin-invert, 24px|♅|class=skin-invert
- Planet.image
- Uranus Voyager2 color calibrated.png
- Planet.caption
- Uranus in true colour, as captured by Voyager 2 on January 24, 1986. Its pale, muted appearance is due to a shroud of haze above its clouds.
- Planet.background
- LightBlue
- Planet.discoverer
- [[]]
- Planet.epoch
- J2000
- Planet.time_periastron
- 17–19 August 2050
- Planet.synodic_period
- 369.66 days
- Planet.avg_speed
- 6.80 km/s
- Planet.satellites
- 29
- Planet.equatorial_radius
Article
26 sectionsContents
- History
- {{anchor|34 Tauri}}<!-- Used by an incoming redirect --> Discovery
- Name
- Formation
- Orbit and rotation
- Axial tilt
- Visibility from Earth
- Internal structure
- Internal heat
- Atmosphere
- Composition
- Troposphere
- Upper atmosphere
- Climate
- Banded structure, winds and clouds
- Seasonal variation
- Magnetosphere
- Moons
- Rings
- Exploration
- In culture
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or volatiles. The planet's atmosphere has a complex layered cloud structure and has the lowest minimum temperature () of all the Solar System's planets. It has a marked axial tilt of 82.23° with a retrograde rotation period of 17 hours and 14 minutes. This means that in an 84-Earth-year orbital period around the Sun, its poles get around 42 years of continuous sunlight, followed by 42 years of continuous darkness.
Uranus has the third-largest diameter and fourth-largest mass among the Solar System's planets. Based on current models, inside its volatile mantle layer is a rocky core, and a thick hydrogen and helium atmosphere surrounds it. Trace amounts of hydrocarbons (thought to be produced via hydrolysis) and carbon monoxide along with carbon dioxide (thought to have originated from comets) have been detected in the upper atmosphere. There are many unexplained climate phenomena in Uranus's atmosphere, such as its peak wind speed of , variations in its polar cap, and its erratic cloud formation. The planet also has very low internal heat compared to other giant planets, the cause of which remains unclear.