Uranus

Diameter: 50800 Km

Length of a Day: 17 Hours 14 Minutes

Length of Year: 84 Earth years

Average Temperature: -197o C(Approximate)

Number of moons: 27 Known moons

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. It has the coldest atmosphere of any planet in the Solar System. It was named after a Roman God famous for science and discovery. It was first recorded by Sir William Herschel in 1781 but at first he thought it was a comet.

Scientists feel there might be a small rocky core at its centre. This is surrounded by a thick layer of frozen water, ammonia and methane. The outer layer of its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium. It is one of the two planets called ‘ice giants’ and its axis is tilted at such an angle that the planet seems to be lying on its side. It has at least 13 dark rings that can’t be seen from the Earth.

Life on Uranus is impossible because it has a very tiny core, if it has one at all, and the temperatures there are as low as -200o C. The winds on Uranus have been recorded as high as 900 km/h. So, anything living there would be blown into pieces.

Uranus can be seen by the naked eye from the Earth, but it is extremely hard to spot it. A telescope will help you spot it, but even a large portable telescope won't let you have a look at its rings which can’t be seen from Earth.

Hope this article turned on some Supernovas in your brain! 

- Aarav Iyer

Reference: Unlocking the Universe - Stephen and Lucy Hawking, Introduction to the Night Sky - Michael Driscoll

Source (image): Wikipedia