URANUS
A GAS
GIANT
THE
SEVENTH
PLANET
WHAT IS URANUS?
• Seventh planet from the
Sun
• Third-largest planetary
radius and fourth-largest
planetary mass
• Discovered on March 13,
1781
• First planet discovered
with a telescope
• Discovered by William
Herschel
MYTHOLOGY
• Named after the ancient Greek deity
of the sky Ouranos
OURANOS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Husband of Gaea
Father of the 12 Titans
Killed by son Kronos
Named after the sky
Death created
Aphrodite
WILLIAM HERSCHEL
ABOUT WILLIAM HERSCHEL
November 15, 1738 - August 25, 1822
• FULL NAME: Frederick William
Herschel
• Born: 15-Nov-1738
• Birthplace: Hannover, Hanover,
• Germany
• Died: 25-Aug-1822
• Location of death: Buckinghamshire,
• England
• Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, England
STRUCTURE
Mostly atmosphere with rocky core
Dominant atmosphere are hydrogen
(83%) and helium (15%), with 2%
methane and hydrocarbons
diameter: 51,118 km (equatorial)
mass: 8.683e25 kg
INTERNAL STRUCTURE
• Mass is roughly 14.5
times that of the Earth
THE SIZE COMPARISON
BETWEEN EARTH AND
URANUS
• Least massive of the
giant planets
• Slightly larger than
Neptune's
PAGE 6
INTERNAL STRUCTURE
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Second least dense planet
Made of various ices: water,
ammonia, and methane.
The total mass of ice is
between 9.3 and 13.5 Earth
masses
INTERIOR OF
URANUS
INTERNAL STRUCTURE
• Gasses are only a small
part of the total,
between 0.5 and
1.5 Earth masses
• remainder of the nonice mass is accounted
for by rocky material
MOONS
• 27 known moons
• Named after characters of William
Shakespeare and Alexander Pope
• 1. Cordelia
2. Ophelia
3. Bianca
4. Cressida
5. Desdemona
6. Juliet
7. Portia
8. Rosalind
9. Mab
10. Belinda
11. Perdita
12. Puck
13. Cupid
14. Miranda
15. Francisco
16. Ariel
17. Umbriel
18. Titania
19. Oberon
20. Caliban
21.
Stephano
22. Trinculo
23. Sycorax
24.
Margaret
25. Prospero
26. Setebos
27.
Ferdinand
MOONS
CLIMATE
Atmosphere remarkably bland in
comparison to the other gas giants which it
resembles
Voyager 2 observed a total of ten cloud
features across the entire planet
Lowest temperature recorded in Uranus's
tropopause is 49 K
Coldest planet in the Solar System
RINGS
o Very dark
o Composed of fairly large particles
ranging up to 10 meters in diameter
o There are 13 known rings
o Very faint
o Brightest is known as the Epsilon ring
o First after Saturn's to be discovered
BEHAVIOR OF URANUS
ROTATION AND AXIAL TILT
The rotational period of Uranus’ is 17
hours and 14 minutes
Experiences strong winds going in the
direction
Axial tilt of 97.77 degrees
This axial tilt would give the planet
seasonal changes
REVOLUTION AND ORBIT
Uranus makes its way around the Sun
once every 84.3 years
Its average distance from it would be
around 3 billion km
Sunlight that reaches the planet is about
1/400 of that on Earth
No perfectly circular orbit
Follows an elliptical path around the Sun
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Definition
Mythology
William Herschel
Structure
Outer
Inner
Moons
Climate
Rings
Behavior
Rotation and Axial Tilt
Revolution and Orbit
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