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Uranus: Interior and Physical Structure

Quick Facts

Mean Temperature - 215oC (58 K)
Diameter 51,488 km
Mass 8.6832 x 1025 kg
Density 1,270 kg/m3
Surface Gravity 8.96 m/s2
Surface Pressure >100 Bars
Dipole Magnetic Field Strength 0.228 Guass-Ru3
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     It is likely that Uranus has a core of rock somewhere between the sizes of Earth and Earth’s moon. Unlike Jupiter or Saturn, Uranus has a uniform composition with no internal layering. Uranus, because of its distance from the Sun, actually radiates more heat than it receives—a release of heat from the convection of liquid hydrogen in the planetary core. Because Uranus “lies on its side,” its south pole is the closest to the sun during a part of its orbit, thus causing polar regions to absorb more energy than equatorial ones. The planet’s interior is primarily composed of methane ice.

Copyright © 2000 by Gary Chan and Matthew McDermott. All rights reserved.