How do we say "Uranus"? One pronunciation sends a class full of 6th grades boys into a fit of giggles. Is that the correct way to say it? Well, as it turns out, you may say "Uranus" any way you like. The preferred name sounds more respectful, "yer-un-us", but if you want to say "yer-ay-nus" go ahead, nobody is going to turn you in for saying a name how you say it! What's so special about Uranus? The most notable is that Uranus travels around the Sun on its side. No one really knows for sure how this happened, but most scientists think the tilt was created by a collision with another celestial object. Uranus has 13 rings around it, the most popular ring is darker and easier to see, the Epsilon ring. Why is Uranus blue? It's made of the same gasses as Jupiter and Saturn, hydrogen, helium and methane, plus other trace gasses. The color is caused by the methane. The methane absorbs the Sun's rays in the atmosphere and reflects a blue color out into space. It takes Uranus 17 hours and 14 minutes to rotate completely around its axis and 84 days to orbit the Sun. Because of Uranus's extreme tilt one side of Uranus gets 42 years of sunlight and 42 years of darkness. Storms do occur on Uranus, wind speeds can reach over 560 miles per hour. This planet is the coldest of all eight planets in the Solar System. The side without sunlight shining on it dips to a chilly -435 degrees Fahrenheit, (for 42 years!) Storms on Uranus have lasted for years. Scientists are thrilled these storms can be studied for long periods of time. Why the storms? They don't know... Uranus is the eighth planet from the Sun and have surprised many astronomers and scientists as they learn more about this pretty blue sphere of gas. Named after the Greek God of the sky, Uranus does not disappoint!
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |