Uranus is the seventh planet (from the Sun) and the first to be discovered by scientists. Although this planet is visible to the naked eye, it was long thought to be a star due to its darkness and slow orbit. In addition, the planet also stands out for its surprising inclination, which makes its axis point almost directly at the Sun.
William Herschel, a British astronomer, discovered Uranus on March 13, 1781 with a telescope while examining the stars. A star looked different to him, and a year later he realized that the star was actually in a planetary orbit. Thus, Uranus received its name from the Greek god Ouranos, the god of the sky made person. It is the only planet named after a Greek god rather than a Roman one.
Characteristics of Uranus
Uranus is blue-green in color due to the methane in its atmosphere, which is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. The planet is often referred to as an ice giant, since at least 80% of its mass is a mixture of water, methane, and ammonia. Also, unlike other planets in the solar system, Uranus is so tilted that it orbits the sun sideways. This orientation could be due to a collision with a planet-sized body shortly after its formation.
This inclination causes extreme seasons on the planet. In other words, during a quarter of the Uranian year (which is equivalent to 84 Earth years) the sun shines directly on each pole. Thus, the other half of the planet lives a long, dark and freezing winter. Furthermore, Uranus has the coldest atmosphere of all the planets in the solar system. This is because it has little (or no) internal heat to supplement the Sun’s heat.
On the other hand, the atmospheric composition of Uranus is 82% hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane. Its internal structure is made up of a mantle of water ice, ammonia and methane, as well as a core of iron and magnesium silicate. Furthermore, the average distance from Uranus to the Sun is 2.9 billion kilometers. This is about 19 times the distance from Earth to the Sun.
Climate of Uranus
The extreme tilt of Uranus causes unusual weather. According to NASA, as sunlight reaches some areas for the first time in years , the atmosphere warms up causing huge spring storms. However, when it first traveled to Uranus in 1986, the spacecraft saw a smooth-looking atmosphere with few visible clouds. Decades later (when the seasons of Uranus had already changed) scientists were able to appreciate the extreme weather of Uranus with advanced telescopes.
