Uranus is an ice giant that ranks seventh in terms of its distance from the Sun in the Solar System. It is the third largest planet in the Solar System by diameter and has the lowest mass among the four large gas giants​.

Discovered by William Herschel in 1781, Uranus is the first planet found with the aid of a telescope. However, Herschel thought this celestial body he discovered was a star or a comet. Two years later, observations by Johann Elert Bode confirmed that this object was a planet, and it was named Uranus​.

Structure and Atmosphere

Uranus is classified as an "ice giant" along with Neptune, rather than a gas giant like Jupiter and Saturn. A large part of the planet's internal structure consists of dense liquids such as water, methane, and ammonia. It does not have a solid surface; its core is a rocky center largely composed of iron and nickel​.

The planet's atmosphere mostly contains hydrogen (82.5%) and helium (15.2%), while also containing 2.3% methane. Methane gas absorbs red light and does not reflect it back, which is why Uranus has its distinctive blue-green color hue​.

Uranus's atmospheric temperature can drop to -224°C, making it the coldest planet in the Solar System. The planet's exosphere layer extends up to 25,000 km from the surface, and temperatures in this region can reach 480°C. Additionally, winds reaching speeds of up to 900 km/h and large storms occur in Uranus's atmosphere​.

^{Representative Image of Uranus (Generated with Artificial Intelligence)}

Orbit and Rotation

Uranus completes one orbit around the Sun in 84 Earth years. The planet's axial tilt is approximately 97.77 degrees, which causes it to rotate on its side. This situation makes the planet's seasons quite different from other planets. Each pole of Uranus receives sunlight for 42 years, while remaining in complete darkness for the other 42 years​.

Uranus's rotation period around its own axis is 17 hours and 14 minutes. Along with Venus, Uranus is one of the two planets in the Solar System that rotate in a retrograde direction​.

Moons and Rings

Uranus has 28 known natural satellites. These are divided into the planet's inner and outer moons. While a large part of the inner moons consists of a mixture of ice and rock, the composition of the outer moons is not fully known. Uranus's two largest moons are Titania, with a diameter of 1,578 km, and Oberon, with a diameter of 1,522 km; these moons were discovered by William Herschel in 1787​.

The planet has 13 rings. These rings were discovered during observations made from Earth in 1977 by James L. Elliot and his team. The Voyager 2 spacecraft confirmed the existence of these rings during its flyby in 1986. Uranus's rings are quite faint compared to those of other gas giants. The inner rings are narrow and darkly colored, while the outer rings are brighter and more distinct in structure​.

Magnetic Field and Magnetosphere

Uranus's magnetic field is quite irregular compared to other planets. The planet's magnetic axis has a 60-degree tilt relative to its rotational axis, and its magnetic field is shifted relative to the planet's center. This situation causes the auroras observed on Uranus not to be aligned with the planet's poles​.

The planet's magnetic field lines bend into a corkscrew (helix) shape due to its rotational axis, extending millions of kilometers away. This irregularity in Uranus's magnetic field is not yet fully understood​.

Discoveries and Space Exploration

To date, the only spacecraft to visit Uranus is Voyager 2. Voyager 2, which made its closest approach to the planet in 1986, sent a large amount of data about Uranus's atmosphere, magnetic field, moons, and rings. It was also discovered during this mission that the planet's magnetic field is stronger than Saturn's​.

Observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope in recent years have revealed previously undetected weather phenomena and auroras in Uranus's atmosphere. The observations indicate that powerful hurricanes also occur in the planet's northern hemisphere​.