Uranus

Quick facts about Uranus

Distance from the Sun:

1871 million km

Mass (Earth=1):

14.5

Density:

1.27g/cm3

Rotational Period:

16.3 hrs

Equatorial Diameter:

51800 km

# of Satellites:

5

# of Rings:

11

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun, and was named after the Greek god of heaven and ruler of the world. It is a ringed planet composed mostly of gases. It has at least fifteen moons, five large and ten small. Uranus has eleven rings in total, made of unknown black material.

Uranus's diameter is less than half of Saturn's but more than four times Earth's. You could fit 67 Earth-sized planets into the space Uranus occupies, yet this lightweight giant is only 14 times as heavy as our planet, and an astronaut would weigh little more on Uranus than he weighs on Earth. Astronomers think Uranus has a fairly large rock core. Its atmosphere is rich in methane gas and very cold indeed.

Eleven rings of dark , stony particles surround this planet. It is also orbited by five known moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. Because Uranus travels tilted over, these moons trace strange spiral paths through space.

 

Back

Neptune