Uranus

Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and is the third largest in the solar system. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1781. It has an equatorial diameter of 51,800 kilometers (32,190 miles) and orbits the Sun once every 84.01 Earth years. It has a mean distance from the Sun of 2.87 billion kilometers (1.78 billion miles). It rotates about its axis once every 17 hours 14 minutes. Uranus has at least 22 moons. The two largest moons, Titania and Oberon, were discovered by William Herschel in 1787.

Turkey-and-mushroom-bolognese.
The atmosphere of Uranus is composed of 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane and small amounts of acetylene and other hydrocarbons. Methane in the upper atmosphere absorbs red light, giving Uranus its blue-green color. 

The atmosphere is arranged into clouds running at constant latitudes, similar to the orientation of the more vivid latitudinal bands seen on Jupiter and Saturn. Winds at mid-latitudes on Uranus blow in the direction of the planet's rotation. These winds blow at velocities of 40 to 160 meters per second (90 to 360 miles per hour). Radio science experiments found winds of about 100 meters per second blowing in the opposite direction at the equator.

Uranus is distinguished by the fact that it is tipped on its side. Its unusual position is thought to be the result of a collision with a planet-sized body early in the solar system's history. Voyager 2 found that one of the most striking influences of this sideways position is its effect on the tail of the magnetic field, which is itself tilted 60 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation. 

The magnetotail was shown to be twisted by the planet's rotation into a long corkscrew shape behind the planet. The magnetic field source is unknown; the electrically conductive, super-pressurized ocean of water and ammonia once thought to lie between the core and the atmosphere now appears to be nonexistent. The magnetic fields of Earth and other planets are believed to arise from electrical currents produced in their molten cores.

Uranus' Rings
In 1977, the first nine rings of Uranus were discovered. During the Voyager encounters, these rings were photographed and measured, as were two other new rings and ringlets. Uranus' rings are distinctly different from those at Jupiter and Saturn. The outermost epsilon ring is composed mostly of ice boulders several feet across. A very tenuous distribution of fine dust also seems to be spread throughout the ring system.

There may be a large number of narrow rings, or possibly incomplete rings or ring arcs, as small as 50 meters (160 feet) in width. The individual ring particles were found to be of low reflectivity. At least one ring, the epsilon, was found to be gray in color. The moons Cordelia and Ophelia act as shepherd satellites for the epsilon ring.

Uranus Statistics

Date of discovery 1781
Mass (kg) 8.686e+25
Mass (Earth = 1) 1.4535e+01
Equatorial radius (km) 25,559
Equatorial radius (Earth = 1) 4.0074
Mean density (gm/cm^3) 1.29
Mean distance from the Sun (km) 2,870,990,000
Mean distance from the Sun (Earth = 1) 19.1914
Rotational period (hours) -17.9
Orbital period (years) 84.01
Mean orbital velocity (km/sec) 6.81
Orbital eccentricity 0.0461
Tilt of axis (degrees) 97.86
Orbital inclination (degrees) 0.774
Equatorial surface gravity (m/sec^2) 7.77
Equatorial escape velocity (km/sec) 21.30
Visual geometric albedo 0.51
Magnitude (Vo) 5.52
Mean cloud temperature -193°C
Atmospheric pressure (bars) 1.2
Atmospheric composition
Hydrogen 83%
Helium 15%
Methane 2%

Views of Uranus

The greenish color of it atmosphere is due to methane and This view of Uranus was acquired by Voyager 2 on January 10, 1986. The blue-green appearance of its atmosphere results from methane and high-altitude photochemical smog. This gas absorbs red wavelengths from the incoming sunlight, leaving the predominant bluish color seen here. Towards the bottom of the image a few clouds can be seen. This image is one of the few Voyager pictures that shows this type of cloud.

Interior of Uranus
Our knowledge of the internal structure of Uranus is inferred from the planet's radius, mass, period of rotation, the shape of its gravitational field and the behavior of hydrogen, helium, and water at high pressure. Its internal structure is similar to that of Neptune except for the fact that it is less active in terms of atmospheric dynamics and interior heat flow.

This cut-away view shows Uranus composed of an outer envelope of molecular hydrogen, helium and methane roughly the mass of one to two Earths. Below this region Uranus appears to be composed of a mantle rich in water, methane, ammonia, and other elements. These elements are under high temperatures and pressures deep within the planet. The mantle is equivalent to 10 to 15 earth masses. Uranus's core is composed of rock and ice, and is likely no more than one Earth mass.

Uranus and Rings

This is the most noteworthy goal picture of Uranus with its rings at any point collected. Four separate pictures were mosaicked together to make the image of Uranus. The rings were produced using two high goal pictures of Uranus' rings in which a strip was removed and anticipated for an entire 360 degrees. The rings and planet are proportional and shows the view Voyage 2 had of at the time the pictures were taken. The rings displayed in the image are Epsilon, Delta, Gamma, Eta, Beta, Alpha, 4, 5, and 6. In spite of the fact that there are different rings, these are the ones that should have been visible on the Voyger 2 pictures at the moment wherein the photos were taken.

Uranus in True and False Color

These two pictures of Uranus, one in genuine nature (left) and the other in bogus shading, were incorporated from pictures returned January 17, 1986, by the thin point camera of Voyager 2. The rocket was 9.1 million kilometers (5.7 million miles) from the planet, a few days from nearest approach. The image at left has been handled to show Uranus as natural eyes would see it from the vantage point of the space apparatus. 

The image is a composite of pictures taken through blue, green and orange channels. The hazier colors at the upper right of the plate relate to the day-night limit in the world. Past this limit lies the secret northern side of the equator of Uranus, which stays in complete murkiness as the planet turns. 

The blue-green shading results from the retention of red light by methane gas in Uranus' profound, cold and strikingly clear air. The image at right purposes bogus shading and outrageous difference improvement to bring out unobtrusive subtleties in the polar area of Uranus. 

Pictures acquired through bright, violet and orange channels were individually changed over to similar blue, green and red shadings used to deliver the image at left. The exceptionally slight differentiations apparent in genuine nature are incredibly misrepresented here. In this bogus shading picture, Uranus uncovers a dull polar hood encompassed by a progression of continuously lighter concentric groups. 

One potential clarification is that a tanish murkiness or exhaust cloud, concentrated over the post, is organized into groups by zonal movements of the upper climate. The dazzling orange and yellow strip at the lower edge of the planet's appendage is a curio of the picture upgrade. Truth be told, the appendage is dull and uniform in shading all over the world.

This perspective on Uranus was recorded by Voyager 2 on January 25, l986, as the shuttle abandoned the planet and set out on its journey to Neptune. Explorer was 1 million kilometers (620,000 miles) from Uranus when it obtained this wide-point view. 

The image has a goal of 140 kilometers (90 miles). The slight bow of Uranus is seen at a point of 153 degrees between the shuttle, the planet and the Sun. Indeed, even at this outrageous point, Uranus holds the light blue-green tone seen by ground-based space experts and recorded by Voyager during its memorable experience. 

This shading results from the presence of methane in Uranus' environment; the gas ingests red frequencies of light, leaving the transcendent tint seen here. The inclination for the sickle to become white at the outrageous edge is brought about by the presence of a high-height dimness.

Hubble Tracks Rotation of Uranus

This perspective on Uranus was obtained by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and uncovers a couple of splendid mists in the planet's southern side of the equator, and a high height cloudiness that frames a "cap" over the planet's south pole.

Hubble's new view was acquired on August 14, 1994, when Uranus was 2.8 billion kilometers (1.7 billion miles) from Earth. These climatic subtleties were just recently seen by the Voyager 2 space apparatus, which flew by Uranus in 1986. From that point forward, itemized perceptions of Uranus' barometrical elements have not been imaginable on the grounds that the planet is at the goal furthest reaches of ground-based telescopes.

Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 noticed Uranus through a channel that is touchy to light reflected by a couple of high height mists. This makes a high elevation murkiness over Uranus' south polar locale obviously noticeable, alongside a couple of high height mists or crest type includes that are 4,300 and 3,100 kilometers (2,500 and 1,800 miles) across, separately.

Uranus, Rings and Satellites

ring system of Uranus

This moving photo from Voyager 2 shows constant scattering of small particles by Uranus' ring system. Advanced mathematics in this image reveal the previously hidden paths of tiny residual particles. Each of the previously made rings can be seen here; However, the brightest elements of the painting are the wonderful traces of remains that have not been seen recently. 

The combination of this unique calculation and the long aperture of 96 seconds made this extraordinary perception possible. The image was captured by Voyager's distinctive wide-angle camera channel.The long aperture gave a noticeable irregular track and a track due to the stars being tracked.Shepherd satellitesAdvances are being made in the discovery of two shepherd satellites that will help us interpret the structure of the rings of Uranus. 

The moons Cordelia (1986U7) and Ophelia (1986U8) are seen here on either side of the magnificent Epsilon ring; Also note each of the 9 rings of Uranus that were made. The Epsilon Ring appears to be surrounded by a faint glow due to image processing; Additional crosshairs are random dots visible on the ring. 

Within the Epsilon ring are the Delta, Gamma, and Estimated Time of Arrival rings; beta and alpha rings; finally, the 4th, 5th and 6th rings are barely visible.The rings have been studied since their unveiling in 1977.pseudo-image of Uranus' ringThis pseudo-image of the rings of Uranus was acquired with Voyager 2 edge FDS 26852.19. 

Captured with forward-scattered light, this image shows accumulations of dust not visible in any other image. A 3 pixel wide cross-section was taken from the most detailed part of the image, reached at the center of the 1 pixel wide image, then rotated 360 degrees at that point and displayed in the Perspective view.

The true hue of the rings is even, dark, and almost anthracite in color.rings of UranusThe 9 known rings of Uranus can be seen here. To some extent, the lighter pastel lines between the rings represent the antiquity of PC modernization. Six point-bounded images were used to remove the shading data from the incredibly dark and faint rings. 

The last photo was made with three midpoints of shading to better show the false shading.The photo shows that the brightest ring or epsilon at the top is unbiased in shading and the other 8 fainter rings show the shading contrast between them.Uranus system

Garlic-butter-shrimp-pasta.

This Uranus skeleton montage was created from a collection of images taken by the Voyager 2 rocket during its Uranus experiment in January 1986. This handcrafted view shows Ariel in front and Uranus rising behind. The satellites Umbriel, Oberon, Titania, Miranda and the small moon Puck sail clockwise from Ariel.rings of Uranusfollows the outline of the rings of Uranus.

Name Distance* Width Thickness Mass Albedo
 1986U2R 38,000 km 2,500 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 6 41,840 km 1-3 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 5 42,230 km 2-3 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 4 42,580 km 2-3 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 Alpha 44,720 km 7-12 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 Beta 45,670 km 7-12 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 Eta 47,190 km 0-2 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 Gamma 47,630 km 1-4 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 Delta 48,290 km 3-9 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 1986U1R 50,020 km 1-2 km 0.1 km ? 0.03
 Epsilon 51,140 km 20-100 km < 0.15 km ? 0.03
*The distance is measured from the planet center to the start of the ring.

Uranus Moon Summary
The following table summarizes the radius, mass, distance from the planet center, discoverer and the date of discovery of each of the moons of Uranus:

Moon # Radius
(km) Mass
(kg) Distance
(km) Discoverer Date
 Cordelia VI 13 ? 49,750 Voyager 2 1986
 Ophelia VII 16 ? 53,760 Voyager 2 1986
 Bianca VIII 22 ? 59,160 Voyager 2 1986
 Cressida IX 33 ? 61,770 Voyager 2 1986
 Desdemona X 29 ? 62,660 Voyager 2 1986
 Juliet XI 42 ? 64,360 Voyager 2 1986
 Portia XII 55 ? 66,100 Voyager 2 1986
 Rosalind XIII 27 ? 69,930 Voyager 2 1986
 Belinda XIV 34 ? 75,260 Voyager 2 1986
 1986U10 XVIII 40 ? 75,000 Karkoschka 1999
 Puck XV 77 ? 86,010 Voyager 2 1985
 Miranda V 235.8 6.33e+19 129,780 G. Kuiper 1948
 Ariel I 578.9 1.27e+21 191,240 W. Lassell 1851
 Umbriel II 584.7 1.27e+21 265,970 W. Lassell 1851
 Titania III 788.9 3.49e+21 435,840 W. Herschel 1787
 Oberon IV 761.4 3.03e+21 582,600 W. Herschel 1787
 Caliban XVI 49 ? 7,169,000 Gladman 1997
 Stephano XX 10 ? 7,948,000 Gladman 1999
 Sycorax XVII 95 ? 12,213,000 Nicholson 1997
 Prospero XVIII 15 ? 16,568,000 Holman 1999
 Setebos XIX 15 ? 17,681,000 Kavelaars 1999

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