SOLAR SYSTEM: Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and the first to be discovered by
scientists. Although Uranus is visible to the naked eye, it was long mistaken as a
star because of the planets dimness and slow orbit. The planet is also notable for
its dramatic tilt, which causes its axis to point nearly directly at the sun.
British astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus accidentally on March
13, 1781, with his telescope while surveying all-stars down to those about 10 times
dimmer than can be seen by the naked eye. One "star" seemed different, and within
a year Uranus was shown to follow a planetary orbit

Uranus was named after the Greek sky deity Ouranos, the earliest of the lords
of the heavens. It is the only planet to be named after a Greek god rather than a
Roman one. Before the name was settled on, many names had been proposed for
the new planet, including Hypercronius ("above Saturn"), Minerva (the Roman
goddess of wisdom), and Herschel, after its discoverer. To flatter King George III of
England, Herschel himself offered Georgium Sidus ("The Georgian Planet") as a
name, but that idea was unpopular outside of England and George's native Hanover.
German astronomer Johann Bode, who detailed Uranus' orbit, gave the planet its
ultimate name.
Physical characteristics
Uranus is blue-green in color, the result of methane in its mostly hydrogenhelium atmosphere. The planet is often dubbed an ice giant, since 80 percent or
more of its mass is made up of a fluid mix of water, methane, and ammonia ices.

Unlike the other planets of the solar system, Uranus is tilted so far that it
essentially orbits the sun on its side, with the axis of its spin nearly pointing at the
star. This unusual orientation might be due to a collision with a planet-size body, or
several small bodies, soon after it was formed.
This unusual tilt gives rise to extreme seasons roughly 20 years long,
meaning that for nearly a quarter of the Uranian year, equal to 84 Earth-years, the
sun shines directly over each pole, leaving the other half of the planet to experience
a long, dark, cold winter.
The magnetic poles of most planets are typically lined up with the axis along
which it rotates, but Uranus' magnetic field is tilted, with its magnetic axis tipped
over nearly 60 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. According to Norman F.
Ness, et al, in an article in the journal Science, this leads to a strangely lopsided
magnetic field for Uranus, with the strength of the field at the northern
hemisphere's surface being up to more than 10 times that of the strength at the
southern hemisphere's surface, affecting the formation of the auroras.
Orbital characteristics
Average distance from the sun: 1,783,939,400
kilometers). By comparison: 19.191 times that of Earth

miles

(2,870,972,200

Perihelion (closest approach to the sun): 1,699,800,000 miles (2,735,560,000

km). By comparison: 18.60 times that of Earth
Aphelion (farthest distance from sun): 1,868,080,000 miles (3,006,390,000
km). By comparison: 19.76 times that of Earth
The planet Uranus, seventh planet from the sun, is a giant ball of gas and
liquid and was the first planet discovered with a telescope.Pin It Credit: Karl Tate,
SPACE.comView full size image
Composition & structure
Atmospheric composition (by volume): 82.5 percent hydrogen, 15.2 percent
helium, 2.3 percent methane.
Magnetic field: Magnetic pole tilt compared to rotational axis: 58.6 degrees
Composition: The overall composition of Uranus is, by mass, thought to be
about 25 percent rock, 60 to 70 percent ice, and 5 to 15 percent hydrogen and
helium.
Internal structure: Mantle of water, ammonia and methane ices; core of iron
and magnesium-silicate
Orbit & rotation
Axial tilt: 97.77 degrees, compared to Earth's 23.5 degrees
Seasonal cycle & length: Approximately 21 years per season

Orbital period: Approximately 84 Earth years

Uranus' climate
The extreme axial tilt Uranus experiences can give rise to unusual weather.
As sunlight reaches some areas for the first time in years, it heats up the
atmosphere, triggering gigantic springtime storms roughly the size of North
America, according to NASA.
Ironically, when Voyager 2 first imaged Uranus in 1986 at the height of
summer in its south, it saw a bland-looking sphere with only about 10 or so visible
clouds, leading to it to be dubbed "the most boring planet," writes astronomer Heidi
Hammel in "The Ice Giant Systems of Uranus and Neptune," a chapter in "Solar
System Update" (Springer, 2007). It took decades later, when advanced telescopes
such as Hubble came into play and the seasons changed, to see extreme weather
on Uranus, where fast-moving winds can reach speeds of up to 560 miles (900
kilometers) per hour.
The rings of Uranus
The rings of Uranus were the first to be seen after Saturn's. They were a
significant discovery, because it helped astronomers understand that rings are a
common feature of planets, not merely a peculiarity of Saturn.
Uranus possesses two sets of rings. The inner system of rings consists mostly
of narrow, dark rings, while an outer system of two more-distant rings, discovered
by the Hubble Space Telescope, are brightly colored, one red, one blue. Scientists
have now identified 13 known rings around Uranus.
Uranus' moons
Uranus has 27 known moons. Instead of being named after figures from
Greek or Roman mythology, its first four moons were named after magical spirits in
English literature, such as William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and
Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock." Since then, astronomers have continued
this tradition, drawing names for the moons from the works of Shakespeare or Pope.
Oberon and Titania are the largest Uranian moons, and were the first to be
discovered, by Herschel in 1787. William Lassell, who was the first to see a moon
orbiting Neptune, discovered the next two, Ariel and Umbriel. Then nearly a century
passed before Miranda was found in 1948.
Then, Voyager 2 visited the Uranian system in 1986 and found an additional
10, all just 16 to 96 miles (26-154 km) in diameter Juliet, Puck, Cordelia, Ophelia,
Bianca, Desdemona, Portia, Rosalind, Cressida and Belinda and each roughly
made half of water ice and half of rock. Since then, astronomers using the Hubble
Space Telescope and ground-based observatories have raised the total to 27 known
moons, and spotting these was tricky they are as little as 8 to 10 miles (12 to 16
km) across, blacker than asphalt, and nearly 3 billion miles (4.8 billion km) away.

Between Cordelia, Ophelia and Miranda is a swarm of eight small satellites

crowded together so tightly that astronomers don't yet understand how the little
moons have managed to avoid crashing into each other. Scientists suspect there
might still be more moons, closer to Uranus than any known.
In addition to moons, Uranus may also have a collection of Trojan asteroids
objects that share the same orbit as the planet in a special region known as a
Lagrangian point. The first was discovered in 2013, despite claims that the planets
Langrangian point would be too unstable to host such bodies.
Research & exploration
NASA's Voyager 2 was the first and as yet only spacecraft to visit Uranus. It
discovered 10 previously unknown moons, and investigated its unusually tilted
magnetic field.
In 2013, the Planetary Science Decadal Survey recommended NASA consider
a mission to the icy planet.
SUMMARY:
Uranus was officially discovered by Sir William Herschel in 1781.
Uranus turns on its axis once every 17 hours, 14 minutes.
Uranus makes one trip around the Sun every 84 Earth years.
Uranus is often referred to as an ice giant planet.
Uranus is the Coldest Planet.
Uranus has two sets of rings of very thin set of dark colored rings.
Uranus moons are named after characters created by William Shakespeare and
Alaxander Pope.
Only one spacecraft has flown by Uranus.

Sources:
http://www.space.com/45-uranus-seventh-planet-in-earths-solar-system-was-firstdiscovered-planet.html
http://space-facts.com/uranus/