Why Uranus is the Weirdest Planet in the Solar System

[00:00:00]This sideways planet has the [music] coldest atmosphere in the solar system, plunging to a terrifying minus 371° Fahrenheit. But inside, [music] its internal temperature reaches thousands of degrees.

[00:00:10]Based on Voyager 2's data, scientists believe Uranus may have a liquid ocean 6,200 miles deep, reaching temperatures of around 12,000 Fahrenheit. Cold on the outside, blazing on the inside. What's more, Uranus is full of bizarre phenomena, like diamond icebergs floating on its ocean, polar vortices, large-scale circulation patterns, and a great dark spot similar to Jupiter's.

[00:00:29][music] It also has a magnetic field 50 times stronger than Earth's. On top of that, Uranus has an incredibly long orbital period.

[00:00:37]One year on Uranus is about 84 Earth years long. [music] If you lived on Uranus, you'd experience just one spring, one summer, one autumn, and one winter in an entire lifetime. Because Uranus rolls on its side, its poles take turns experiencing 42 Earth years of daylight, followed by [music] 42 Earth years of darkness.

[00:00:53]If you lived at one of Uranus's poles, your whole life would contain just one day and one night. Back on Earth, seasons feel ordinary. The next sunrise or sunset is always just hours away.

[00:01:03]But on Uranus, all of that is an impossible luxury.