Uranus: The Coldest Planet in the Solar System

[00:00:00]When you think of the planets, you probably picture them spinning like tops. But in the cold outer reaches of our solar system, there's a rebel.

[00:00:08]Meet Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun and the only one that rolls around its orbit like a bowling ball. Today, we're exploring this mysterious ice giant, a world of freezing winds, hidden rings, and Shakespearean moons.

[00:00:22]Uranus is classified as an ice giant.

[00:00:25]It's about four times the diameter of Earth, but it's not solid. Beneath its atmosphere of hydrogen and helium, you'd find a hot, dense fluid of icy materials, water, methane, and ammonia surrounding a small, rocky core.

[00:00:38]That distinct blue-green color? That's thanks to methane in the atmosphere, which absorbs red light and reflects the cool, icy blue we see from space.

[00:00:48]The most famous feature of Uranus is its extreme tilt. Its axis is tilted at nearly 98°, while Earth spins mostly upright, Uranus literally orbits on its side.

[00:00:59]Astronomers believe a massive, Earth-sized object slammed into it billions of years ago, knocking it completely over.

[00:01:06]This tilt causes the most extreme seasons in the solar system. Each pole experiences a 21-year-long dark winter, followed by 21 years of continuous sunlight. Uranus is surprisingly busy.

[00:01:19]It has 13 faint, dark rings that are easily missed and 28 known moons.

[00:01:24]If you look closely at their names, you'll notice something special. Unlike most moons named after mythological figures, the moons of Uranus are named after characters from the plays of William Shakespeare and the works of Alexander Pope.

[00:01:38]These moons are frozen worlds, each with its own geologic secrets waiting to be discovered. Uranus is surprisingly busy.

[00:01:45]It has 13 faint, dark rings that are easily missed and 28 known moons.

[00:01:51]If you look closely at their names, you'll notice something special. Unlike most moons named after mythological figures, the moons of Uranus are named after characters from the plays of William Shakespeare and the works of Alexander Pope.

[00:02:04]These moons are frozen worlds, each with its own geologic secrets waiting to be discovered. Distance from Sun, approximately on 8 billion miles, 19 AU.

[00:02:16]Orbital period, 84 Earth years.

[00:02:19]Day length, approximate at 17 hours.

[00:02:22]Temperature, minimum of minus 224.2° C, minus 371° F.

[00:02:30]Exploration, only visited once, Voyager 2, 1986.

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