Bad Dog Needs Rotten Home

THE NEW HOME FOR THE BEST STUFF ON THE WEB.

THINGS ABOUT URANUS YOU MAY NOT KNOW

Added on: 13th Jun 2016

 

 

URANUS IS THE SMALLEST OF THE FOUR “GIANTS,”

(THE OTHERS BEING JUPITER, SATURN, AND NEPTUNE),

BUT IT IS STILL SEVERAL TIMES LARGER THAN EARTH.

IT HAS A DIAMETER OF 29,297 MILES, OR 47,150

KILOMETRES, COMPARED TO EARTH’S DIAMETER OF

JUST UNDER 8,000 MILES, OR 12,760 KILOMETRES.

solarsystem2

 

 

BUT LIKE THE OTHER GAS GIANTS URANUS HAS A

HYDROGEN UPPER LAYER, WHICH HAS HELIUM

MIXED IN. BELOW THAT IS AN ICY MANTLE, WHICH

SURROUNDS A ROCK AND ICE CORE, WHICH IS THE

REASON WHY URANUS IS OFTEN REFERRED TO

AS AN “ICE GIANT” PLANET. THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE

IS MADE OF WATER, AMMONIA, AND THE METHANE

ICE CRYSTALS THAT GIVE THE PLANET ITS

PALE BLUE COLOUR

But like the other gas giants Uranus has a hydrogen upper layer, which has helium mixed in. Below that is an icy mantle, which surrounds a rock and ice core, which is the reason why Uranus is often referred to as an “ice giant” planet. The upper atmosphere is made of water, ammonia, and the methane ice crystals that give the planet its pale blue color

 

 

FROM THE TIME URANUS WAS FIRST OBSERVED,

SCIENTISTS NOTICED THAT AT CERTAIN POINTS

IN ITS ORBIT THE PLANET WAS BEING PULLED

FARTHER OUT INTO SPACE

From the time Uranus was first observed, scientists noticed that at certain points in its orbit the planet was being pulled farther out into space.

 

 

IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY CERTAIN ASTRONOMERS

HYPOTHESIZED THAT THIS PULL WAS DUE TO THE

GRAVITATIONAL PULL FROM ANOTHER PLANET

In the nineteenth century certain astronomers hypothesized that this pull was due to the gravitational pull from another planet.

 

 

BY MAKING MATHEMATICAL CALCULATIONS BASED

ON OBSERVATIONS FROM URANUS, TWO ASTRONOMERS,

ADAMS AND LE VERRIER, IDENTIFIED THE LOCATION OF

THE OTHER PLANET

20 en.wikipedia.org

 

 

THE PLANET THAT WAS EXERTING A GRAVITATIONAL

PULL ON URANUS WAS NEPTUNE, 10.9 AU FARTHER

OUT IN SPACE

Neptune

 

 

AND IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING WHAT AN AU IS,

DISTANCES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM ARE MEASURED IN

ASTRONOMICAL UNITS (AU), WITH EARTH’S DISTANCE

FROM THE SUN BEING 1 AU. URANUS IS 19.2 AU

FROM THE SUN

AU-Planet-Distances

 


View by Month