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The Upside-Down World
And Uranus, eldest god of heaven...
-- Ovid, Metamorphoses |
At first glance Uranus (whose name comes from the Roman god of the primordial heavens) seems as nondescript, even boring, as planets go. Lacking Jupiter’s size, Saturn’s rings, and Pluto’s distance from the sun, it would seem that this turquoise planet has nothing to distinguish itself with. Nothing could be further from the truth. Uranus (pronounced YUR-ah-nis) boasts the most complicated system of interlocking satellite and ring orbits in the solar system, with more moons (21 known so far) than any other planet, not to mention a complex ring system second only to Saturn's. A unique magnetosphere encircles the planet—due in part to the fact that Uranus literally spins on its side (Uranus's axis is almost parallel to the ecliptic). Though only the probe Voyager 2 has sailed past Uranus, astronomers are still interpreting the data collected. The latest of Uranus’s moons was discovered from pictures more than a decade old.
Quick Facts
Planetary Order from the SunSeventh
Average Distance from the Sun2.79 x 109 km
SizeMass: 8.6832 x 1025 kg
Diameter: 51,488 km
Density: 1,270 kg/m3
Rotation and OrbitRotation about Axis: 0.7179 Days (17.23 Hours)
Period of Revolution about Sun: 84.01 Years* (30,685.4 Days)
Orbital Inclination: 0.772o
Orbital Eccentricity: 0.0457
* The approximation of 365.256 days per year is used.
Mean Temperature- 215oC (58 K)
Twenty-One Satellites (Moons)1999U3 (still unnamed), Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Belinda, 1986U10 (still unnamed), Puck, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Caliban, 1999U2 (still unnamed)
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Quick Links
Location and Orbit
The Atmosphere and
Magnetosphere
The Surface
Interior and Physical Structure
Moons and Rings
Missions to Uranus
History and Timeline
References & Links
Quiz
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