Uranus
By Jeff
Wellcome to life on Uranus
A day on Uranus is only about 17 hours. But the tilt of Uranus works out so that one pole or the other is usually pointed towards the Sun. This means that a day at the north pole of Uranus lasts half of a Uranian year – 84 Earth years. So, if you could stand on the north pole of Uranus, you would see the Sun rise in the sky, circle around for 42 years, and finally dip down below the horizon. Then you would have 42 years of darkness.Do you think you can stand that challenge if so YOU CAME TO THE RIGHT PLANET......THE ONE AND ONLY...URANUS THE GREATTTTT.
For more info go to http://www.universetoday.com/19279/10-interesting-facts-about-uranus/
Location of Uranus
"Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and is the third largest in the solar system. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1781." It is in between Saturn and Neptune and is four Planets from Earth.
Cool facts on Uranus
"It became the first planet discovered with the use of a telescope." "Uranus is tipped over on its side with an axial tilt of 98 degrees."At first Herchel thought it was a comet,but several years later it was confirmed as a planet. Hercal tried to have his discovery named Georgian Sidus"after King George lll. The name Uranus was suggested by astronomer Johann Bode.The name comes from the ancient Greek deity Ouranos."The planet rotates in a retrograde direction, opposite to the way Earth and most other planets turn."Uranus turns on its axis once every 17 hours, 14 minutes.Uranus makes one trip around the Sun every 84 Earth years"Only one spacecraft in the history of spaceflight has ever made a close approach to Uranus. NASA’s Voyager 2 zipped pass Uranus in January, 1986, coming within 81,000 km of the surface of Uranus. It took thousands of photographs of Uranus and its moons, and then sped off onto towards its next target: Neptune. No other spacecraft have ever been sent towards Uranus, and there are no plans to send any more. So, get used to the few pictures we’ve got.
Things on(around or on the planet) Uranus
"The atmosphere of Uranus is composed of 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane and small amounts of acetylene and other hydrocarbons." Uranus has rings that float around the planet made of rocks or asteroids. like infrared, and you’ll see that Uranus does have bands and cloud patterns. Early observations of Uranus didn’t show anything, but improved telescopes in the 1990s showed that Uranus has bright regions in its atmosphere. Some of these clouds only last for hours, while others have been around since the Voyager flyby in 1986. Astronomers have also been able to chart the wind speeds on Uranus, and have found they can 250 m/s."
Size of Uranus
"The mean radius of Uranus is 15,792 miles (25,362 kilometers), giving a diameter four times that of Earth." "Uranus does display a set of rings around its middle. The rings around Uranus are made up of tiny dark particles smaller than a meter." "Only two of the 13 rings are larger than six miles across.The seventh planet from the sun, Uranus is the smallest of the gas giants. The blue body contains an icy atmosphere that, like Neptune, differs dramatically from the other large planets Uranus!"
Structure of Uranus
"Uranus is distinguished by the fact that it is tipped on its side. Its unusual position is thought to be the result of a collision with a planet-sized body early in the solar system's history." "Our knowledge of the internal structure of Uranus is inferred from the planet's radius, mass, period of rotation, the shape of its gravitational field and the behavior of hydrogen, helium, and water at high pressure. Its internal structure is similar to that of Neptune except for the fact that it is less active in terms of atmospheric dynamics and interior heat flow."
Color of Uranus
"Uranus is light blue; the color comes from methane clouds. In some photos released after 1986 "Voyager 2" fly-by Uranus looked bright green, but that color was artificial." "Uranus' blue color is the result of absorption of red light by methane in the upper atmosphere. There may be colored bands like Jupiter's but they are hidden from view by the overlaying methane layer. Like the other gas planets, Uranus has rings."