#7 from the Sun · planet

Uranus

천왕성
Ice giant

A cyan ice world that rolls on its side. The first planet ever "discovered" by telescope.

Key Facts
Distance from Sun
19.2 AU (about 2.875 billion km)
Diameter
50,724 km (4× Earth)
Orbital period
84 years
Rotation period
17.2 hours (retrograde)
Moons
28+ (Titania, Oberon, ...)

Science

The science

Uranus is an ice giant made mostly of water, ammonia, and methane ices, and the methane in its atmosphere absorbs red light to give it a cyan hue. Its most peculiar feature is that its axis is tilted about 98°, so it circles the Sun almost lying on its side, rolling like a ball. As a result, its polar regions have 42 years of continuous day followed by 42 years of night. It also has the coldest atmosphere in the Solar System (as low as about -224°C). Discovered by telescope by William Herschel in 1781, it became "the first planet discovered by humankind," unlike the other planets known since antiquity.

Name & Myth

The story behind the name
Uranus, god of the sky

Unlike the other planets, which take the names of Roman gods, Uranus is the only planet named after Uranus, the sky god of Greek mythology. In the genealogy of the gods, Uranus is the father of Saturnus (Saturn) and grandfather of Jupiter (Jupiter), so the planets were named to form a father-son-grandson lineage in the order "Sky-Saturn-Jupiter." In East Asia, after Western astronomy arrived, it was rendered "Cheon-wang-seong," meaning "King of the Sky."

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