Uranus

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IntroductionUranus

Uranus is just barely visible to the naked eye from Earth. It looks like a tiny featureless pale greenish disk.

It is the third largest planet with a mass 14.5 times that of Earth. However, it has a diameter 4 times of Earth, indicating that it is quite gaseous. It rotates in 17.2 hours.

 

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is efficient in transferring heat from one hemisphere to the other. The main composition of the atmosphere is:

 

Uranus RingRings

There is a presence of a system of 9 rings around Uranus. The rings are dark, narrow and widely separated. The narrow rings of Uranus require shepherding satellites to keep them from dispersing away.



MoonsUranus Moon

Uranus has 18 moons. There are 5 medium-size moons and at least 13 tiny moons with radii less than 80 kilometers. The moons revolve in the equatorial plane, which is almost perpendicular to the ecliptic.

The largest two are Titania and Oberon. Titania is the largest moon of Uranus. Both moons have been geologically inactive and dark surfaces. Titania has many shallow craters and long, deep rifts.

 

Special Features - TiltUranus Tilt

For some unknown reasons, it's equator is tilted to the ecliptic by 97° 53´. This gives rise to peculiar seasons on Uranus such as warmer spring and autumn than equally cold summer and winter for a person at the equator. Further, we see the moons face on during part of the Uranus year, as a result.

 

 

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