Quickie Questions - Solar System - Uranus and Its Moons
| Date Answered | Questioner (age, location) | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 15, 2010 | mayra (C.A) | HOW much sunlight does uranus get? | Sunlight intensity decreases by the inverse square law. Earth is 1 AU from the sun while Uranus is 20 AU. Uranus gets about 1/202th = 1/400th of the light from the sun as the Earth. |
| January 12, 2010 | naja (north carolina) | how would a human be fare on Uranus? | Although gravity on the surface of Uranus is not too diferent from Earth's (8.69 m/s2, 0.89 x Earth's), temperatures are, -200oC ( -oF) at cloud tops. There will also be a lack of oxygen and water, essencial elements for human life. |
| September 28, 2009 | olivia (tasmania/Australia) | if Uranus has moons, how many of them, what are their names and what are they like? | Uranus has 27 fascinating moons and a complicated ring system. See our Table of Moons for more information. |
| August 19, 2009 | Jasper (California, US) | What is the physical appearence of the planet Uranus? | The plain aquamarine face of Uranus confirms the fact that Uranus is covered with clouds. The sameness of the planet's appearance shows that the planet's atmosphere is mostly composed of one thing, methane. The planet appears to be blue-green because the methane gas of the atmosphere traps red light and does not allow that color to escape. |
| June 2, 2009 | Jessica (Tasmania) | What is Uranus made of? | The Giant planets do not have the same layered structure that the earthlike planets do. Their evolution was quite different than that of the earthlike planets, and they have much more gas and ice inside. Uranus's interior is primarily made of methane ice. |
| May 19, 2009 | grace (Tasmania/Australia) | Why is Uranus a planet? | The definition of "planet" set in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) states that in the Solar System a planet is a celestial body that: is in orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and has "cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit. Uranus fulfill this definition. |
| May 19, 2009 | garce (Tasmania/Australia) | have people visited uranus? | o, the only celestial body visited has been the moon. However, one space mission flew by Uranus, the Voyager 2. Launched in 1973, actually sixteen days before the Voyager 1, the probe passed by Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Nine years later, it successfully reached Uranus. |
| May 19, 2009 | Jessica (Tasmania/Australia) | What is Uranus made of? | The composition of Uranus' interior is methane, in the form of ice. Ice begins forming in the atmosphere of Uranus, near the methane cloud deck. The amount of ice in the air keeps increasing until there is slush, and then solid ice. This ice is warm (for Uranus) and can flow like the rocky underground mantle layers of Earth. |
| May 18, 2009 | Taylor (tasmania) | is there air on uranus? | Assuming that you are asking about the atmosphere: The plain aquamarine face of Uranus confirms the fact that Uranus is covered with clouds. The sameness of the planet's appearance shows that the planet's atmosphere is mostly composed of one thing, methane. The planet appears to be blue-green because the methane gas of the atmosphere traps red light and does not allow that color to escape. |
| April 30, 2009 | Lisset (Mesa,Arizona) | What is the difference in weight between Earth and Uranus? | Tha mass of a body is constant everywhere. Its weight equals the gravitational pull of the planet over this body. In other words, weight equals the gravitational force: W = Fg = m*g, where g is the acceleration of gravity on the surface of a given planet. Now, for Earth g = 9.8 m/s2, and for Uranus g = 8.69 m/s2, or 0.89 times Earth's gravity. Then, a body in Uranus would weight 0.89 of his "terrenal" weight. |
| April 20, 2009 | Kara (Canada) | When were the rings on Uranus discovered? And by who? | In 1977, scientists from Cornell University watched as Uranus appeared to blink several times. They later realized the blinking was caused by a band of rings surrounding the planet. These rings are very dark and narrow, unlike Saturn's, which are bright. Voyager II sent back many pictures that clearly show these rings. |
| April 17, 2009 | amanda montoya (Iowa ,postville) | Do you think we can live on Uranus like we do on earth? | Becaus Uranus is much farther from the Sun, temperature are about -200º C ( -328º F). Also, the Giant planets do not have the same layered structure that the earthlike planets do. Their evolution was quite different than that of the earthlike planets, and they have much more gas and ice inside. Uranus's interior is primarily made of methane ice. All these extreme conditions make Uranus a hard place for the human life. |
| March 6, 2009 | yasmine (MA) | is there any oxygen on uranus | Uranus' atmosphere is mostly composed of methane. The planet appears to be blue-green because the methane gas of the atmosphere traps red light and does not allow that color to escape. Beside clouds of methane crystals low in the atmosphere, smog, composed of ethane (the same product that can provide fuel for automobiles), is also present high in the atmosphere. There is no significant amount of oxygen in Uranus. |
| March 5, 2009 | Marta (California) | what is the distance from Uranus to the Earth in Kilometers and Meters? | Uranus' minimum distance from Earth is 2.57 billion km (1.6 billion miles). |
| February 3, 2009 | Samantha (Oklahoma, USA) | How long does it take for Uranus to orbit the Sun? | Uranus' Revolution Period about the Sun is 84 earth years. |
| January 29, 2009 | alexis (alabama) | what is the length of sidereal days on uranus? | Uranus's sidereal day is 17.24 Earth hours. |
| January 21, 2009 | rebecca (kentucky/u.s.a) | is earth smaller or larger than the planet uranus . also if uranus has any likquids or gases or solids what are they. | Our Earth diameter is 12 753 km (7,926 miles), while Uranus diameter is 51 488 km (32,000 miles). So Uranus is more than 4 times the size of our planet. The interior Uranus is primarily made of methane ice. |
| September 25, 2008 | MEG (QLD) | WHAT IS THE TEMPERATURE OF URANUS | Uranus temperature at cloud tops is -200 ºC ( -328 ºF). |
| September 9, 2008 | krisha (philippines) | how many distance does uranus have to the earth | The minimum distance between Uranus and Earth is 2.57 billion km (1.6 billion miles). |
| September 2, 2008 | vicki (australia) | hi, what are some conditions on the planet uranus and can you provide me with 8 conditions please.... thnx | Uranus' interior is primarily made of methane ice. Motions in the interior of Uranus help form the magnetosphere of Uranus. Heat generated within Uranus helps form the unusual winds of the atmosphere. Some facts about Uranus: Diameter: 51,488 km (32,000 miles) Rotation Period about Axis: 17.24 hrs Mass: 86.8x10^24 kilograms Revolution Period about the Sun: 84 years Density: 1,270 kg/m^3 Tilt of Axis: 98 degree (or 82 degree?) Minimum Distance from Sun: 2.7 billion km Surface Gravity: 8.69 m/s^2 Maximum Distance from Sun: 3 billion km Temperature at Cloud Tops: -200 degree C |
| August 15, 2008 | noah (england) | how wet is uranus | The Giant planets do not have the same layered structure that the earthlike planets do. Their evolution was quite different than that of the earthlike planets, and they have much more gas and ice inside. In the particular case of Uranus, its interior is primarily made of methane ice. |
| August 14, 2008 | Alexis (Arkanasas) | what is the diameter for Uranus? | Uranus' Diameter: 51,488 km (32,000 miles). |
| July 3, 2008 | amy | Why was Uranus called Uranus? | Uranus was first named "the Georgium Sidus" by its discoverer (Herschel). This name means the Georgian Planet, as an honor to King George III of England. "Uranus" was proposed by German astronomer J. Bode, trying to get this planet in agreement with the other planetary names, all from classical mythology. Uranus stands for the starry sky in the evening, the god of the sky. In the creation myth of the Greeks, Uranus suddenly came out of the Earth (shown as the goddess Gaea). Gaea herself suddenly came into being out of Chaos, which came before all things. |
| July 1, 2008 | JAZMIN (MONGOLIA) | how long would it take to get to uranus from earth | It depends on the traveling speed and the distance between the planets. For example, if we use Uranus' minimum distance from Earth (2 570 000 000 km or 2 570 000 000 000 meters), light, traveling at about 300 000 000 m/s, will requiere 8 566.7 seconds or about 2 1/2 hours to reach Uranus. |
| June 18, 2008 | grant (virginia/united states) | what is the length of day for uranus | Uranus' day (or rotation period about its axis) is 17.24 hrs. |
| June 17, 2008 | Ashley (Florida, us) | What is the highest maximum tempeture on Uranus? | Uranus' Temperature at Cloud Tops is -200o C ( -328o F). |
| May 29, 2008 | Elena (California) | How was Uranus formed? | The prevalent theory is that the sun, all the planets and the rest of the bodies in our solar system were formed out of the solar nebula, from a process known as accretion. Just like a dancer that spins faster as she pulls in her arms, the solar nebula began to spin as it collapsed. Eventually, the cloud grew hotter and denser in the center, with a disk of gas and dust surrounding it that was hot in the center but cool at the edges. The planets and moons were formed from this solar nebula. For a complete description of the formation of our system, please visit our web page Solar System Formation. |
| May 12, 2008 | elizabeth (wisconsin (usa)) | what is uranuses core and surface made of? | The Giant planets do not have the same layered structure that the earthlike planets do. Their evolution was quite different than that of the earthlike planets, and they have much more gas and ice inside. Uranus's interior is primarily made of methane ice. |
| March 4, 2008 | Ginnette (nj/paterson) | Can you send me some pics & info on Uranus? Please my project is due on friday december 7,2007! please help me!!!!! | Our web page Uranus offers tons of informaton and links about this planet. Here are many pictures of Uranus. |
| February 11, 2008 | Ke (MO) | Does Uranus have any signs of life? | So far, the efforts to find extraterrestrial life have not been successful. |
| February 7, 2008 | crystal (sc) | uranus gravity compared to earth. | Uranus' surface gravity is 8.69 m/s2 (0.89 x Earth's). |
| January 30, 2008 | mikaela (colorado) | is uranus hot or cold | Uranus' temperature at cloud tops is -200o C ( -328o F). |
| January 2, 2008 | q (Indiana) | we are doing a project on uranus and want to know: what is your favorite or most interesting fact/thing about this planet? | Its blue color. The plain aquamarine face of Uranus confirms the fact that Uranus is covered with clouds. The sameness of the planet's appearance shows that the planet's atmosphere is mostly composed of one thing, methane. The planet appears to be blue-green because the methane gas of the atmosphere traps red light and does not allow that color to escape. |
| December 27, 2007 | Kat (New Jersey, USA) | What is the orbital velocity on Uranus? | Uranus' mean orbital velocity is 6.81 km/sec. |
| August 17, 2007 | Dylan (auckland) | does uranus have any water on it and what is it made of | Extracted from NASA-FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Uranus: Much of what we know about the interiors of the planets comes from the combination of the observations we CAN make and mathematical modeling of the things we CAN'T observe directly. We know, for example, how much the whole planet weighs by its effect on its moons and on passing spacecraft. By comparing that weight with the size we observe, we can determine that the average density (weight per cubic inch) of Uranus is just slightly above the density of water. Since water is very common in the solar system, the natural conclusion is that much of the interior of Uranus (and Neptune) are water. |
| August 17, 2007 | Dylan (auckland) | how long would it take to get to uranus going 100 km/h | If we take 2.57 billion km as the minimum distance (d) between Earth and Uranus, and assuming that the speed (v) of 100 km/h is constant along the whole trip, then the time required to reach Uranus is given by t = d/v t = (2570000000 km)/(100km/h) t = 25700000 hours = 2 931.8445 years. |
| August 15, 2007 | Dylan (auckland) | how warm is it in uranus in °c | Uranus' temperature at Cloud Top is: -200o C ( -328o F). |
| July 17, 2007 | Anthony (new jersey) | what needs would have to be met in order for a creature to survive on uranus? | The temperature at cloud tops of Uranus is -200oC ( -328oF). Also, the Giant planets, including Uranus, do not have the same layered structure that the earthlike planets do. Their evolution was quite different than that of the earthlike planets, and they have much more gas and ice inside. Uranus's interior is primarily made of methane ice. These are big difficulties to solve! |
| July 10, 2007 | Ariel (Maryland) | who discoverd the planet uranus?!? ( thank you for youe time:]) | Astronomer William Herschel is credited with the discovery of Uranus in 1781. He was using a telescope he built himself when he spotted a dim object. He watched it for years and determined it had to be a planet. For more information on this topic, visit our webpage Discover Uranus. |
| July 10, 2007 | Darien (California) | I would like to know how far Uranus is from earth and how long will it take you to get there?? | The average distance between our planet and Uranus is 2.7 billions km. The time required to arrive to uranus depends on the velocity of the spaceship. |
| July 9, 2007 | ~*paula*~ (sa) | could uranus sustain life on its surface ??? | Uranus' temperature at cloud tops is -200 oC ( -328 oF), so one of the first priorites is to assure adequate living conditions! |
| July 2, 2007 | Jessica (US) | what is the low temperature of Uranus? | Uranus' temperature at cloud tops is -200 oC ( -328 oF). |
| May 5, 2007 | Daniela (nc/smithfield) | what is the circumference of uranus? | The circumference of a circle can be calculated from its diameter using the formula: c = 3.1416 d (circumference = pi times diameter). Using d = 51 488 km for Uranus, the circumference at Uranus' equator is: c = 3.1416 x 51 488 km = 161 754.7 km |
| April 13, 2007 | ABHAY (INDIA) | WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TEMPERATURE OF NEPTUNE & URANUS | Uranus, Temperature at Cloud Tops: -200oC ( -328oF) Neptune, Temperature at Cloud Tops: -210oC ( -346oF) |
| March 28, 2007 | Jessica (New Jersey) | What are uranuses rings names? | Uranus has 27 fascinating moons and a complicated ring system. The ring is a completely different form of ring than the one around Saturn or Jupiter. At Uranus there is a very obvious partial ring, or "ring arc". Earth-based observations indicated that there were actually nine major rings. Moving outward from the planet, they are: 6, 5, 4, Alpha, Beta, Eta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. |
| March 28, 2007 | Jessica (New Jersey) | what is the temperture on uranus? | Uranus temperature at cloud tops is -200oC ( -328oF). |
| March 26, 2007 | john (Florida/U.S.) | how much would you weigh on Uranus, if you weigh 100 pounds on earth? | Uranus surface gravity is 8.69 m/s2 (0.89 x Earth's). This means that a 100 punds person will weight 89 punds in Uranus). |
| March 23, 2007 | Emily (Michigan) | What is the Size of the Planet? {Uranus} | Uranus diameter is 51 488 km (32,000 miles), and its mass is 86.8x1024 kilograms (14.5 x Earth's). More interesting planetary facts can be founf in our web site Uranus Statistics. |
| March 23, 2007 | Emily (Michigan) | What is the Gravity on uranus? | The surface Gravity in Uranus is 8.69 m/s2 (0.89 x Earth's). |
| March 23, 2007 | Emily (MICHIGAN) | What is the surface conditions on uranus? | The Giant planets do not have the same layered structure that the earthlike planets do. Their evolution was quite different than that of the earthlike planets, and they have much more gas and ice inside. Uranus's interior is primarily made of methane ice. More information in our web page Uranus. |
| February 13, 2007 | KATEY (CANADA) | WHAT IS THE TEMP. ON URANUS? | The range of temperature at Uranus cloud tops is about -200 degree C (-328 degree F). More interesting facts at our web page Uranus Statistics. |
| February 8, 2007 | Sadie (South Dakota) | what color is uranus? | Uranus' bluish color is due to the absorption of the red light from the sun, and reflection of the blue light from the sun back into space. You can see many beautiful images at our web page Uranus Images. |
| February 6, 2007 | Brianna (pennslvyania/USA) | how can there be storms on Uranus but it is a gas planet,there wind on this planet? | Heat generated within Uranus helps form the unusual winds of the atmosphere. MOre information about the features of this planet can be found at our web page Uranus Interior Overview. |
| February 6, 2007 | Brianna (pennslvyania) | does Uranus get any precpitation or any wind? | In spite of the fact that the heat from within Uranus seems to be low, the movements of the atmosphere seem to be influenced by the energy of Uranus as if the heat from within was high. This heat generated within Uranus helps form the unusual winds of the atmosphere. More information about this planet can be found at our web page Uranus. |
| February 5, 2007 | Sian (England) | What is the surface temperature of Uranus? | The temperature of Uranus at cloud tops is -200 degree C ( -328 degree F). |
| February 5, 2007 | Lizzi (Michigan) | For the planet Uranus what is the time needed to rotate on its axis? | Uranu's rotation period about its axis is 17.24 hrs. Uranus completes a full revolution around the Sun in 84 Earth's years.
More interesting factors can be found in our web page Uranus Statistics. |
| January 22, 2007 | Harmony (VA ,U.S.A.) | How are Uranus and Neptune alike? | Uranus's and Neptune's interiores are primarily made of methane ice.
Motions in the interior of both planets help form their respective magnetosphere. Heat generated within them helps form the unusual winds of their atmosphere. For more information, visite our web pages Uranus and Neptune. |
| January 19, 2007 | aerial (sc) | my name is aerial do they have a moon name ariel | Ariel is one of Uranus' mmons. It was discovered in 1851 by W. Lassell. Ariel has a diameter of 1160 km, and orbits the planet in 2.520 days. |
| January 16, 2007 | Sabine (kansas) | How many moons does Saturn really have? | Uranus has 27 known moons. The complete list of known moons in our Solar System can be found in our Table of Moons in our Solar System. |
| January 16, 2007 | Sabine (Hawaii) | How many moons does Uranus really have? | Uranus has 27 known moons. The complete list of known moons in our Solar System can be found in our Table of Moons in our Solar System. |
| January 16, 2007 | Rachel (massachuestts) | What are the sizes of the five biggest moons of Uranus? P.S. Please write back before January 15th 2007. Thank you!1 | Uranu's 5 bigger moons and diameters (km) Titania, 1580 Oberon, 1526 Umbriel, 1190 Ariel, 1160 Miranda, 472 For a complete list of the moons of our Solar System, please, visit our web page Moons in our Solar System. |
| January 3, 2007 | ant (Florida, United States) | What is the maximum and minimum temperatures on Uranus? | The temperature at Uranus' cloud tops is about -200 C ( -328 F). For more interesting facts about this planet, visit our web page Uranus. |
| November 14, 2006 | Riley (Colorado/ Parker) | Is uranus just a ball of gas with a soled center or are the stoff on the out side only clouds? | The composition of Uranus' interior is primarily methane in the form of ice. The core of Uranus is made out of heavier, rocky and metal elements. More details about the structure of Uranus can be found at this page. |
| November 12, 2006 | Rachel (NJ) | How long is a year in Uranus? In Earth years. | Uranus takes 84 Earth years to complete one full revolution around the Sun. For more interesting facts about Uranus visit this page. |
| November 12, 2006 | Savannah (GA) | What is Uranus's symbol?Does it have one? | You can find all the information about Uranus, including its symbol at this page |
| March 19, 2001 | Veronica (17, New York, USA) | Can you tell me about the moon Ariel? | Ariel is one of Uranus' moons. |
| December 14, 2000 | Samantha (middleschool) | I am doing a Science project on the Planet Uranus, and I was wondering if you could tell me some good websites to locate further information. | Check out our Uranus section and our Uranus web pages. |
| June 30, 2000 | Katie (Canada ) | Uranus' rings were first spotted from Earth during an eclipse of a star by Uranus. Why would this be? | Most likely, the light from the star illuminated the rings around Uranus. These rings are very dark and almost impossible to see from Earth. But the added light from the star made the discovery possible. |
| June 8, 2000 | Bweedy | How many rings does Uranus have? | Uranus has a grand total of 11 rings. The farthest one out, called the epsilon ring, is only several feet in width. |
| May 17, 2000 | Jason (Massachusettes, USA) | According to information from voyager I and II, Saturn had 23 moons and Uranus had 15. According to your site Saturn has 18 and Uranus has 20. Please explain. | The most recent numbers say that Saturn has 18 moons and Uranus has 20. Astronomers have located 5 more moons around Uranus since the Voyager spacecraft flew by. As for Saturn, it turns out that some of the so-called moons are really moons. We only know of 18 moons for sure, so until then, Uranus is the planet with the most moons in our solar system. |
| March 3, 2000 | William (Missouri, USA) | How did W. Lassell come up w/ the name Umbriel when he discovered this moon in 1851? | Umbriel is a character in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock. All of Uranus' moons' names are from the works of Shakespeare and Pope. |
| June 23, 1999 | Michael (New Jersey) | Why did they name Uranus Uranus? Was it a joke or something? Who was the person that named it? | The planet Uranus (pronounced 'YOOR a nus') was named by Johann Elert Bode, a German astronomer. It was named after Uranus, the Greek god of the Heavens. All of the planets have been named after Greek gods. The man who discovered Uranus (William Herschel) actually wanted to name it Georgium Sidus, but nobody else really liked that idea, so Uranus it is. |
| June 18, 1999 | Adriana (Texas) | What is the sideways planet called? | Uranus is the sideways planet. Scientists think that it may have been knocked on its side by an ancient collision with an Earth sized object. |
| May 18, 1999 | Shannon (Pennsylvania, USA) | What would it take (or what would we need) to live on Uranus? | Well, first of all, the atmosphere of Uranus is mostly methane gas. So we would need to transport and store a lot of Oxygen to breathe! Also, the average surface temperature is -200 degrees C. We would need some reall y huge heaters to keep warm! |
| March 31, 1999 | Jonathan (Florida, USA) | What color(s) are the rings of Uranus? | Uranus' rings are gray, and so are thought to be made of dust. |
| May 19, 1998 | Jimmy (Illinois, USA) | How big is Uranus? | Uranus is 51,488km or 32,000 miles in diameter. |
| May 12, 1998 | Alicia (Michigan, USA) | Why has nobody ever landed on Uranus? | Voyager 2 flew by Uranus in 1986 taking thousands of pictures of the planet. I imagine we haven't sent a probe to land on Uranus because we are not certain that a probe could land at all! Uranus is made up of a lot of gas. There is ice in the atmos phere and this probably becomes slush and solid ice as you near the "surface" of Uranus. But even that "surface" would not be very friendly to land on! |
| April 14, 1998 | Eric (U.S.A.) | Why is Uranus on its side? | This is still an unanswered question. Possibly it is a result of a massive collision, but we still don't know the true answer. (yet!) |
| January 20, 1998 | Jan | Why are Uranus' seasons peculiar? | Uranus has 2 seasons, winter and summer. Each are about 21 Earth-years long. When it is summer on one half, the sun shines continuously, while the winter half is in total darkness. Another odd thing is that the lighted, summer half of Uranus is actu ally four to six degrees cooler than the dark, winter half! This is because cold objects loose heat more slowly than warm objects. Since Uranus is already cold, the dark side looses the heat it has gathered from the sun very slowly. |
| January 12, 1998 | Jed (Utah, USA) | Has anyone ever probed Uranus? | Uranus (pronounced "YOOR a nus" to avoid any embarassment) has been visited by only one probe, the Voyager 2. It was able to visit Uranus in 1986 as part of its extended mission. |
| December 2, 1997 | Sharron (Michigan, USA | Why is Uranus blue? | Uranus and Neptune both appear greenish-blue because the methane in their atmospheres absorbs red wavelengths of light. Removing the red wavelengths of light from the visible spectrum leave green and blue wavelengths which are reflected to our eyes. |
