Uranus surface photos: A closer look at its surface and features; Read details

Uranus is the seventh planet in the solar system and also the second last planet. Uranus was the first planet ever to be found with the help of a telescope. The planet’s discovery was made by astronomer William Herschel in 1781. William Herschel believed that the planet was a comet or a star.

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Uranus Surface Photos

Here is a closer look at Uranus' surface:

Images sourced from solarsystem.nasa.gov

Uranus Surface Features:

• According to solarsystem.nasa.gov, Uranus is a massive planet. It is four times the size of Earth. If Earth was a tennis ball, Uranus would be the size of a basketball or a football.
• Uranus revolves around the sun at a distance of 2.9 billion kilometers or 1.8 billion miles. It is the second last planet and the seventh planet in our solar system.
• A Uranian day is much shorter than an Earth day, amounting only to 17 hours, compared to the 24 hours. A Uranian year is way, way longer than an Earth year. A Uranian year constitutes about 84 earth years in one revolution.
• Uranus is an icy world. Neptune Surface is filled with a hot, dense, icy substances such as ammonia, water, and methane. Neptune has a small rocky core.
• The atmosphere that surrounds the planet Uranus is quite gassy. The atmosphere is filled with molecular hydrogen, methane, and atomic helium.
• Uranus has a huge amount of Moons. The planet has 27 known moons discovered to date. These moons have been named after the characters and works of Alexander Pope and William Shakespeare.
• Uranus is also one of the ringed planets. It is known to have 13 rings. The outer rings are visibly bright in color and the inner rings are on the narrow and darker side, as reported by NASA.
• Just like Neptune, only one spaceship has ever come close to the planet of Uranus. Voyager 2 is the only space ship that has made it close to the planet of Uranus to study it in-depth and up close.
• The planet is not known to have the resources to support any type of Life.
• The planet Uranus is similar to the planet Venus in the way it rotates. The planets rotate east to west instead of west to east. Uranus has one more unique feature, the planet rotates on its side.

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Facts about Uranus

• Uranus is known as the “sideways planet” because it rotates on its side.
• William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781.
• Uranus was the first planet found using a telescope.
• Uranus is an Ice Giant planet and nearly four times larger than Earth.
• Uranus has 27 known moons, most of which are named after literary characters.
• Like Saturn, Jupiter, and Neptune, Uranus is a ringed planet.

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Promo image source: solarsystem.nasa.gov