Atmosphere
Hydrogen, helium and methane. It holds the record for the coldest atmosphere measured: about −224 °C.
Distance from Earth today
2808.3M km
In astronomical units
18.772 AU
Light travel time
2h 36m
Overview.
Uranus is an ice giant tipped over by about 98°, so it rolls along its orbit like a ball.
Methane in its atmosphere absorbs red light, giving it a soft blue-green color.
- Diameter
- 50,724 km
- Distance from Sun
- 2.87B km
- Year
- 84 Earth years
- Day
- 17h 14m
- Gravity
- 0.89 g
- Moons
- 28
The real Uranus
Through spacecraft eyes.
Voyager 2 compares Uranus in true color (left) and false color (right). Enhanced colors reveal subtle atmospheric bands.
Image credit: NASA / JPL
Surface & interior
No solid surface; beneath the clouds lies a hot, dense fluid of water, methane and ammonia "ices" around a small rocky core.
Moons & rings
28 known moons named after characters from Shakespeare and Pope, such as Miranda, Titania and Oberon. It also has 13 faint rings.
Missions.
- Voyager 2 (1986, the only visit)
- Uranus Orbiter and Probe (proposed)
Wow facts.
- Each pole gets about 42 years of sunlight, then 42 years of darkness.
- It was the first planet discovered with a telescope (1781).
- It may have diamond "rain" deep inside.
Yana asks
What could have knocked a whole planet onto its side?
Cover: artistic illustration. Spacecraft images and radar visualizations: credited NASA mission data.