Transcript Nick Prieston uranus

Uranus
By Nick Prieston
Discovery
• William Herschel
• March 13, 1781
Distances
• 7th planet from Sun
• 2.88 billion km from Sun
• 2.57 billion km from Earth
Measurements
Mass: 8.68103x1010 kg
Volume: 6.8344x1013 km3
Density:1,270 g/cm3
Gravity: 8.87 m/s2; 0.86 of Earth
• Would sink in water
Orbit and Rotation
• 1 Urasian year= 84 Earth years
• 1 Urasian day= 17 Earth days, 14 minutes
Atmospheric Composition
• 83% Hydrogen
• 15% Helium
• 2% Methane
Temperature Range
Uranus: -153˚C – (-218˚C)
Earth: 14˚C – 15˚C
Composition
• Methane
• Metallic hydrogen
• Helium
• Ice
Looks like a blue-green planet with no defining features on
the outside. Has a soft edge to it, and has thirteen rings
surrounding it. Tilted on its axis, so it orbits and rotates on its
side.
Weather
900 km/h winds blow on Uranus when the
Sun shines on the equator. These winds blow
into storms the size of North America and
happen every 21 years, when the seasons
change. Uranus is tilted at 98°, so every season
lasts 21 years. The weather is mostly separated
into bands around the planet, similar to Jupiter
and Saturn.
Rings
Uranus has 13 rings which are very dark
and made of large rocks and fine dust.
Moons
Uranus has 27 moons, but the five largest are
Miranda, Ariel, Titania, Oberon, and Umbriel. These are so
large that if they orbited the Sun, they would be dwarf
planets. Miranda was discovered in 1948 and has a mashed
up surface. Scientists speculate on what caused it. Ariel
was discovered in 1851. Its surface has valleys, as well as
sillicate rock and water ice. Umbriel, also discovered in
1851, is very dark. It has a 90 mile long golden ring along
its equator, and scientists cannot figure out why. Oberon
and Titania were discovered in 1787 were discovered by
William Herschel. Oberon has craters all over its surface
and is made of ice and rock, while Titania has fault lines
running all over its surface.
Water
• There is ice under a hydrogen ocean, as liquid
water could not possibly exist on Uranus.
What would happen to you?
First of all, you would not be able to land on Uranus at all, since
there is no solid surface on it. However, if you were to take a boat ride
on the hydrogen ocean, you would choke on the methane air, if your
body has not already froze to death in the -218°C temperatures.
Fun Facts
With temperatures as cold as -218°C, Uranus is the
coldest planet in the Solar System. At 1,270 g/cm3 it
is also the second least dense. This means it has 89%
less powerful gravity than Earth’s. Uranus is tilted on
its side, so one pole faces the Sun for 42 years, while
the other pole is plunged into darkness for 42 years.
You can see bright bands of storms that wrap around
Uranus like they do on Saturn and Jupiter, but only
with infrared light. In visible light, it looks like a
blue/green ball with no rings. However, Uranus has
13 rings that are very dark and formed recently. You
can see Uranus with the naked eye, but you have to
know what you are looking for, and the skies must be
very dark.
Bibliography
Fraser, Cain. Universetoday.com. http://www.universetoday.com/19111/weather-onuranus/ 2008
NASA.gov.
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Uranus&Display=Rings
2013
Fraser, Cain. Universetoday.com. http://www.universetoday.com/19317/uranusmoons/ 2008
Howell, Elizabeth. Space.com. http://www.space.com/22201-uranus-moons.html
2013
Fraser, Cain. Universetoday.com. http://www.universetoday.com/19279/10interesting-facts-about-uranus/ 2008