New Delhi, March 10 (IANS). Uranus, the seventh planet of the solar system, is famous for its unusual tilt on its axis. It is inclined at an angle of approximately 98 degrees to its orbital plane, due to which it appears to revolve around the Sun like a rolling ball. The day of March 10 has special significance in astronomical history. On this day, in the year 1977, scientists discovered faint rings around Uranus. This important achievement adds a new chapter towards understanding the unsolved mysteries of this planet.
American space agency NASA gives detailed information about Uranus. Uranus is the third largest planet in the Solar System, with an equatorial diameter of 51,118 kilometers, about four times wider than Earth. It is an average of 2.9 billion kilometers away from the Sun. Sunlight takes 2 hours 40 minutes to reach here. One day on the planet is about 17 hours long, while it takes 84 Earth years to complete one year (a revolution around the Sun).
Due to its unique tilt, the weather on Uranus is also strange. For every 21 years, the sun shines continuously on one pole, while the other part remains immersed in 21 years of dark winter. Uranus and Venus are the only two planets that rotate in the opposite direction to most planets. There are a total of 13 main faint rings around Uranus, most of which are thin and dark brown. Some of these rings are surrounded by bands of fine dust. The two outer rings are red and blue.
The planet has 28 known moons, named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, such as Titania, Oberon, Miranda, etc. Most moons are made of half water ice and half rock. Uranus is an ‘ice giant’ planet. Most of it is made up of hot liquid forms of water, methane and ammonia. Despite having a small rocky core, it is the second least dense planet in the Solar System. It looks blue-green due to methane gas.
Its temperature drops to -224 degrees Celsius, which is colder than Neptune. The speed of winds can reach 900 kilometers per hour. The planet has no solid surface, it is mostly swirling liquid. Spacecraft cannot land here nor fly safely.
In 1986, Voyager 2 did a flyby of Uranus, which gave information about the rings, moons and weather. Recent observations have shown rapid changes in clouds. Uranus’ magnetic field is also unique, it is tilted 60 degrees from the axis of rotation and offset from the center. Due to this, auroras are also not formed directly over the poles. The chances of life here are slim to none, as the temperatures, pressures and chemicals are so harsh.
–IANS
MT/AS
