Uranus

The ice giant that spins on its side

Uranus is a cold, pale-blue planet. The strangest thing about it: it spins lying on its side, like a rolling ball! That's why summer on Uranus lasts 42 years, followed by 42 years of winter. Uranus is made of layers of ice and gas.

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun, an ice giant. Its atmosphere is hydrogen, helium and methane; methane absorbs red light, which gives the planet its blue-green tint. Uranus's axis is tilted 98° — it spins almost on its side, probably after an ancient collision with a large body. Uranus has the coldest atmosphere in the Solar System (down to −224 °C). It has 13 faint rings and 28 moons named after characters from Shakespeare and Pope. Only one spacecraft has visited Uranus up close — Voyager 2 (1986).

Fun facts

• Uranus was the first planet discovered with a telescope (1781, William Herschel).
• A year on Uranus is 84 Earth years — born there, you'd have your first birthday at 84!
• Uranus's moons are named after literary characters, not gods like other planets' moons.
• Scientists think it might rain diamonds inside Uranus!