07 · ice giant

Uranus

An ice giant rolled onto its side. The poles take turns facing the Sun for 42 years at a stretch.

Distance from Sol

2.87 bn km

Surface gravity

8.69 m/s²

Day length

17.2 hrs

Mean temperature

−195 °C

Orbital period

84 yrs

Atmosphere

83% hydrogen, 15% helium, 2% methane. Methane absorbs red light and returns the cyan. Featureless at Voyager's resolution; later imaging found faint bands and a polar hood.

Notes

Axial tilt 98°. The magnetic field is offset from the centre by a third of the radius and tilted 59° from the spin axis. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited.

Illustrative scale · orbital distances compressed. Not an ephemeris.