Uranus may be one of the “gas giants” but it is also the lightest in mass. It is the third-largest planet in the Solar System and the biggest of the ice giants. Uranus is an ice giant (instead of a gas giant). In 1977, the Voyager 2 spacecraft discovered that Uranus does have rings. It flew by Uranus, spending only six hours and collected much of the data that we know about the planet. The biggest moons of Uranus, all of them, have surface areas smaller than the continent of Australia. Uranus has 27 moons orbiting it. It also spins in the opposite direction of most planets. Uranus has a thick atmosphere made of methane, hydrogen, and helium. The common tradition after naming a new planet is to name a newly discovered element after the planet, a sort of variant. There is no getting around the “butt” of so many jokes about this planet, however, it’s also been the focus of quite a few science fiction stores, television shows, and games, including “Doctor Who” and the video game “Mass Effect.”, https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/uranus/overview/, https://www.universetoday.com/19279/10-interesting-facts-about-uranus/. Uranus has a blue-green color from all of the methane gas in its atmosphere. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/system/stellar_items/image_files/69_feature_1600x900_uranus_new.jpg, https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/system/feature_items/images/88_carousel_uranus.jpg, https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/all-about-uranus/uranus2.en.jpg, https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rCdTVsPesASiv3JeVyhHsa-1200-80.jpg, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/potw1714a.jpg. If you were on another planet looking back at our solar system, you would see our sun as a star. Uranus has the coldest planetary atmosphere in the Solar System. Early on, planets were bouncing around, moving in location and it’s thought that there once was actually a lot more that got tossed out our crashed into each other. One year on Uranus, or the time it takes for it to circle the Sun once, it the equivalent of 84 Earth years. The tail of Uranus’ magnetosphere extends into space for millions of miles and its magnetic field lines are twisted due to Uranus’ sideways rotation so that it’s shaped like a corkscrew.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'planetsforkids_org-box-4','ezslot_10',187,'0','0'])); There are 27 known moons around Uranus and they hold the distinction of being named for characters from the works of Alexander Pope and William Shakespeare. Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, has 2.8 times the diameter of Uranus. Structure and Surface Uranus is surrounded by a set of 13 rings. At the equator the winds are retrograde and blow in the opposite direction of the rotation of the planet. Uranus has a rather strange rotation when compared to other planets in our solar system. The year that Uranus was discovered they also discovered a new element and named it Uranium after the planet. Although slightly larger in diameter than its neighbor, Neptune, Uranus has a smaller mass. Uranus is the only planet that spins on its side. It comparison to Earth’s mass, Uranus has around 14.5 times the mass of Earth. During the 1986 Voyage 2 spacecraft trip, scientists saw a few clouds on Uranus, along with a Great Dark Spot, and a small dark spot. Take an interactive tour of the solar system, or browse the site to find fascinating information, facts, and data about our planets, the solar system, and beyond. William Herschel, the discoverer of Uranus, first believed that the planet was a comet. Uranus is 20 times further away from the Sun than Earth. Uranus is made of water, methane, and ammonia fluids above a small rocky center. The situation of the tilt creates a condition so that its northern pole and southern pole only face the sun half of the year each. Uranus is so bright that at times it can be seen by the human eye, without the help of a telescope. Uranus has 13 known rings surrounding it but they are difficult to observe. Can you imagine 20 years of summer? The closest planets to Uranus, its neighbors, are Neptune and Saturn. They couldn’t be detected from earth because they are so far away and their reflection of light was also low. Recent discoveries have shown that Uranus has dynamic cloud activity near the equinox that include fast-changing bright features. The Uranian moons are named for characters created by Alexander Pope and William Shakespeare. Uranus - Facts for Kids. All other planets, with the exception of Uranus, have a rotation axis that is almost perpendicular to the orbital plane.