This is a graph of the temperature profile.
Click on image for full size
Image from: Arizona Press

Uranus' Stratospheric Temperature Profile

This diagram shows the temperature profile of Uranus' stratosphere. The temperature becomes warmer with height until the stratopause, or "top" of the stratosphere is reached. As shown in the figure, the stratopause is placed at 1 thousandth of a bar of pressure (one thousand times less than the pressure at the surface of Earth), at the elbow where the temperature no longer increases with height but is steady with height.

Hazes of Uranus are located throughout this region of the atmosphere.

The diagram shows that the temperature goes from about 55 kelvins (-370° F) to about 120 K (-243° F) in 100 km (62 miles or 328,000 ft.), reversing the temperature trend in the troposphere. Compare the changes in the stratosphere with those in the mesosphere.

For a picture showing how the temperature changes in whole atmosphere, click here.


Last modified May 28, 2010 by Randy Russell.

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Uranus' Atmospheric Hazes

Besides methane, Uranus' atmosphere contains more sophisticated atmospheric molecules such as ethane gas, acetylene, and diacetylene. All these molecules form layers of haze at different altitudes high...more

Kelvin Temperature Scale

The Kelvin scale is a temperature scale that is often used in astronomy and space science. You are probably more familiar with the Celsius (or Centigrade) scale, which is part of the metric system of measures,...more

Uranus' Mesosphere Temperature Profile

This is the temperature profile of Uranus' mesosphere. The temperature is the same at all heights until the mesopause, or "top" of the mesosphere is reached. As shown in the figure, the mesopause is placed...more

Uranus' Tropospheric Temperature Profile

This is the temperature profile of Uranus' troposphere. The temperature becomes cooler with height until the tropopause, or "top" of the troposphere is reached. The tropopause is defined to be the altitude...more

Uranus' Mesosphere

The mesosphere of Uranus is a region of balance between warming and cooling. That essentially means that nothing happens there. Except for diffusion, the atmosphere is still. Upper reaches of the atmosphere,...more

An Overview of Uranus' Atmospheric Structure

As on Earth, the atmosphere of Uranus consists of a troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The troposphere is the region where the visible clouds are to be found. The stratosphere, as...more

Altitude Variations of the Belts & Zones

On Uranus, as on Jupiter, the winds in the belts and zones blow first in one direction, then in the opposite direction. Wind blows east in a belt, and west in a zone. The clouds rise up in a belt, and...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA