Facts and Info about the Planet Uranus
Uranus
is the ancient Greek God of the Heavens, Uranus was the
son of Gaia (alternative name used for the Planet Earth).
Due to its distance from Earth, Uranus was not correctly
identified as a Planet until march 1781 when the English
astronomer William Herschel correctly identified it, he
named it "Georgium Sidus" in honour of King George III.
The Planet was not commonly known as Uranus until the mid
19th century when it was deemed more in keeping with the
names already given to the other Planet's to re-name it
Uranus at the suggestion of the German astronomer Johann
Elert Bode. As can be seen in the picture, in common with
the other Gas Planets in the Solar System, Uranus has a
series of rings. The only Spacecraft that has visited
Uranus to date is the American "Voyager 2", which did so
in 1986.
How far is the Planet Uranus away from the Sun ?
Uranus is the sixth furthest planet in our Solar system from the
Sun, the average distance being 2871 million Km (19.22 Au), Earth
by comparison is nineteen times this distance away from the Sun.
How big is it? Interesting Facts
about the Planet Uranus
The
Planet Uranus has a diameter of about 51118km, four times that of
the Earth, this makes it the third largest Planet in our Solar
System, and it's mass is in the order of 8.69e25 kg, fourteen and
a half times greater than that of Earth.
What is it like on
the surface of the Planet Uranus ?
Uranus is a
gas planet consisting of mainly rock and approximately 15%
hydrogen. The atmosphere of the Planet is approximately 83%
hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane, the latter is responsible for
the Planets blue colour, it absorbs red light causing the apparent
colour to have a blue cast.
Does the Planet
Uranus have any Moons ?
There are
twenty seven known satellites, the best known are Cordelia,
Ophelia, Bianca, Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind,
Belinda, Puck, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Caliban,
Stephano, Trinculo, Sycorax, Prospero and Setebos. As will be
apparent, the names of the satellites come from the works of
Shakespeare and Pope.
Facts and Info about the Planet Uranus, once known as Georgium Sidus
