Uranus is the 7th planet from the Sun, discovered by William Herschel in 1781. It has a thick atmosphere composed of hydrogen and methane that gives it a blue-green color. Uranus is an 'ice giant' composed mostly of ice and some rocky material. Unlike other planets, Uranus spins on its side with its axis perpendicular to its orbit, likely due to an ancient collision that tipped it over. Its seasons last over 20 years as a result. Uranus has 27 moons named after characters from Shakespeare and Pope.
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Uranus ppt
2. QUICK FACTS
• 7th planet from the Sun
• First planet discovered by telescope
• Uranus spins on its side
• Discovered by William Herschel in
1781
• 3rd largest planet in our solar
system
3. A BLUE-GREEN WORLD
• Uranus has a thick mix of hydrogen and methane as
an atmosphere. The methane causes the planet’s
blue-green color.
• Some astronomers call Uranus an ‘ice giant’
because most of its mass is ice and some rocky
material.
4. URANUS VS. OUR WORLD
Distance from Sun 1.7 Billion Miles 93 Million Miles
Diameter 32,000 Miles 7926 Miles
Length of Year 84 Earth Years 365.25 Days
Length of Day 17.24 hours 23 hours 56 minutes
Gravity .89 that of Earth 2.66 times that of Mars
Temperature Average -319 degrees F Average 57 degrees F
Number of Moons 27 1
5. A PLANET OFF KILTER
• Uranus moves around the Sun with its
rotation axis is perpendicular to its orbit
around the sun.
• It is thought that a planet-sized body hit
Uranus early in its history, “tipping” it
over. Because of this, Uranus’ seasons
last over 20 years
6. A PLANET OF MANY MOONS
• The 27 moons of Uranus are named after characters from the works of
William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.
7. GOD OF THE SKY
• Uranus was named after the Greek
god of the sky 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, other names were proposed,
including Hypercronius ("above
Saturn"), Minerva (the Roman
goddess of wisdom), and Herschel,
after its discoverer.