Uranus: Difference between revisions

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'''Uranus''' is the seventh [[planet]] from the [[Sun]]. It is a [[gas giant]] (also known as a Jovian planet, after the planet [[Jupiter]]).
#REDIRECT [[Uranus (disambiguation)]]
[[Image:Uranus NASA JPL.gif|right|thumb|350px|{{#ifexist:Template:Uranus NASA JPL.gif/credit|{{Uranus NASA JPL.gif/credit}}<br/>|}}Voyager 2 photo of Uranus taken in 1986]]
==Parameters for classification as a planet==
Uranus is classified as a planet by the International Astronomical Union for meeting the following criteria:<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/planetsf-20060824.html Honey, I Shrunk the Solar System] NASA. “The International Astronomical Union has decided that, to be called a planet, an object must have three traits. It must orbit the sun, be massive enough that its own gravity pulls it into a nearly round shape, and be dominant enough to clear away objects in its neighborhood.”</ref>
*Orbits the sun;
*Has mass sufficient for its gravity to form a nearly round shape;
*Has mass sufficient for gravity to clear a path in its orbit.
 
==Physical Characteristics==
Uranus's distance from the sun is about nineteen and a half times that of earth (19.6 AU), and with a mass fourteen times that of Earth (14 Earth masses), is the lightest of the outer planets. It has a much colder core than the other gas giants, and radiates very little heat into space.<ref>{{cite web|title=10 Mysteries of the Solar System|author=Hawksett, David; Longstaff, Alan; Cooper, Keith; Clark, Stuart|work=Astronomy Now|year=2005|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005AsNow..19h..65H|accessdate= 2006-01-16 }}</ref>
 
==Rotational Characteristics==
Uniquely among the planets, it orbits the Sun on its side with the poles pointing in the axial plane almost directly at the sun in the orbital plane; its axial tilt is over ninety degrees to the ecliptic.  While its polar orientation switches back and forth as it orbits the sun, this means that the seasons last for extreme periods of time, winter, for example lasts 42 earth years. <ref name=NMMRotation>[http://www.nmm.ac.uk/server/show/conWebDoc.272/viewPage/8 The effect of rotation] National Meritime Museum</ref>
 
==Natural satellites==
Uranus has twenty-seven satellites, the largest ones being Titania, Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel and Miranda.
 
==References==
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==External Links ==
 
[[Category:Astronomy Workgroup]]
[[Category:CZ Live]]

Latest revision as of 01:25, 24 September 2008

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