Uranus

 

[1] Uranus

Also referred to as an 'Ice Giant' of the solar system, Uranus is the seventh planet and the second furthest planet from the sun. Approximately 4.503 billion years old and with an equatorial diameter of 51,118 km, Uranus orbits the sun every 84 years making it one of the slowest planets averaging a speed of just 560 miles per hour. Lacking a "solid, well-defined surface" [2], this planet is considered an 'Ice Giant due to its atmosphere consisting mostly ice, ammonia fluids and methane with methane resulting in its blue exterior. Interestingly, "gravity on Uranus is only 90 percent that of Earth so if you weighed 100 lbs. at home, you would only weigh 91 lbs. on Uranus" [2]. The video below helps explain this unique planet in more depth:

                                                    [3] National Geographic discuss Uranus

Another interesting feature about Uranus is it being the coldest planet within the solar system averaging a temperature of -244 degrees celcius. As seen in the video, Uranus spins on it side which was the result of a cosmic crashing into its atmosphere billions of years ago resulting in it now having a 98 degree tilt subsequently. It is this tilt that actually makes the planet the coldest within the solar system as by being on its side, "the tilt makes the planet spill out a lot of heat into space thus retaining very little" [4] as a result. What is also special about Uranus is like its neighboring planet Saturn which is most famously known as the 'ringed planet' of the solar system, this planet too has a set of rings orbiting its atmosphere. With two sets of rings much thinner than those orbiting Saturn, these "rings particles are small, ranging from a dust-sized particles to small boulders" [5]  which astronomers believe formed "when one or more of Uranus's moons were broken up in an impact" [5]with one set of rings being discovered in 1977 and the other being discovered between 2003 to 2005 which was captured by the famously known Hubble Space Telescope. In terms of moons, Uranus has 27 moons which are all interestingly "named after characters created by William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope" [5] such as Titania, Miranda and Oberon as a few. After 63 years of space exploration, only one spacecraft has been able to fly passed this 'Ice Giant' which got to "a distance of 81,500 km" [5] of the planet which provided astronomers with many images of Uranus and its surrounding rings and moons. Overall, Uranus is a planet that is unique within the solar system as not only is it the only planet to spin on its side but it is also the only planet able to reach temperatures of -244 degrees celcius making it the coldest planet and by far one of the most interesting planets within the solar system. 

References:

[1] pinterest.com.[n.d.]. Astronomy and Astrophysics. [Online] Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/413979390738545109/ [Last Accessed 24/10/2020].

[2] Redd, N. [n.d.]. What is Uranus Made Of?. [Online] Available at: https://www.space.com/18706-uranus-composition.html [Last Accessed 29/10/2020]. 

[3] National Geographic. [2019]. Uranus 101. [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4NXbFOiOGk [Last Accessed 29/10/2020]. 

[4] Omondi, S. [2017]. Is Uranus the Coldest Planet?. [Online] Available at: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-makes-uranus-the-coldest-planet-in-the-solar-system.html#:~:text=It%20is%20believed%20that%20Uranus,colder%20than%20the%20other%20planets. [Last Accessed 29/10/2020]. 

[5] spacefacts.com. [n.d.] Uranus Facts. [Online] Available at: https://space-facts.com/uranus/ [Last Accessed 29/10/2020].