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About Uranus
About Uranus
Named after the Greek god of the sky, Ouranos, making it the only planet with a name from Greek mythology rather than Roman.
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and is an ice giant, composed mostly of water, ammonia, and methane ice, which gives it a distinctive blue-green color. Uranus has a very tilted axis, making it unique among the planets in our solar system.
Distance of Uranus From the Sun - Uranus orbits the Sun at an average distance of 2.87 billion km (1.78 billion miles), or 19.18 AU. (1 AU = Distance from Earth to Sun)
Earth size comparison - Uranus is about 4 times the size of Earth. If Earth were a baseball, Uranus would be a basketball.
Five Facts About Uranus
Five Facts About Uranus
Extreme Tilt – Uranus has the most tilted axis in the solar system, with an angle of 98 degrees, meaning it essentially rolls around the Sun on its side, making its seasons very extreme.
Blue-Green Color – Uranus has a blue-green appearance due to the methane gas in its atmosphere, which absorbs red light and reflects blue and green light.
Cold Temperatures – Uranus is one of the coldest planets in the solar system, with temperatures as low as -224°C (-371°F).
Ring System – Uranus has 13 known rings, which are faint and made up of dark particles, unlike Saturn’s bright icy rings.
Many Moons – Uranus has at least 27 known moons, with names like Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. Many of these moons have unique and rugged landscapes.
Click on any of the names below to learn more about other planets in our solar system.
Mercury | Venus | Earth | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune | Dwarf Planet Pluto
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