The Tipped Ice Giant
Uranus
An ice giant rolling around the Sun on its side. Uranus's extreme tilt gives it decades-long seasons of continuous sunlight and darkness, beneath a calm, methane-tinted cyan haze.
Size compared to Earth4× Earth's diameter
Full bar = Jupiter, the largest planet
Vital statistics
- Diameter
- 51,118 km
- Distance from Sun
- 2872.5 million km
- Orbital period
- 84 Earth years
- Day length
- 17.2 hours
- Moons
- 28
- Mean temperature
- -195°C
Notable facts
Uranus rotates at a 98° tilt — it essentially orbits the Sun on its side.
Each pole gets 42 years of nonstop sunlight followed by 42 years of darkness.
It is the coldest planet in the solar system, dropping to −224°C.
Uranus was the first planet discovered with a telescope, by William Herschel in 1781.
Next stop
Neptune