Introduction

Uranus spins 1.27 billion miles from Earth.  Uranus’ skies are chocked with that freezing hydrogen, helium and ammonium mixture we saw on Neptune. They are twins, although Neptune is the fiercest of the pair. In our neighborhood Uranus and Neptune are known as the ice gas giants and a couple like none other.

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I Say Tomah-to and You Say Tomay-to

So it is with Uranus. The British and their colonial cousins all happily call this planet; “You-Reign-Us” Their American cousins pronounce the planet as, “You-RAN-Us” (Spoken quick). In context it goes something like this. For the Commonwealth-speakers, “One day, I would love a langorous holiday on the moons of, “You-Reign-Us.” Their American friends would retort, “Why sure! When they shot a spaceship to, “You-RAN-Us,” (Quickly) it looked great!” A twin planet, with a twin sound, and bluer than any tomah-to.

Magnetism, Rings and Many Moons

Uranus is not alone with Neptune, Saturn and Jupiter having a magnetic field. Uranus also has a distinct ring-system discovered in 1977. Uranus has 27 moons, with the top five named after characters from Shakespeare and Pope’s plays; “Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel. Titania and Oberon.” Titania, the largest moon, is half the size of our moon. If all Uranus’ moons were squashed together, the resulting ball would only be the size of Neptune’s’ moon, Triton. The many moons of Uranus are just a collection of tiny balls floating in rings of stone.

Miranda, the second-largest moon of Uranus, has a deep, icy scar, with evidence of volcanism, which gives her an odd-crinkly look. Uranus’ rolls in a very busy neighborhood.

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Unique Uranus

This twin ice-gas giant is singular because:

• Uranus spins on her side, tilted at 97.77 degrees, off the vertical
• Imagine a giant bowling ball rolling down the bowling alley’s gutter. So it is for Uranus. She’s, “rolling,” through the sky
• During Uranus’ 84 year orbit around the Sun, each hemisphere will have a 42 year-long night, as she is lying down.

I Spy

Uranus was also the first planet discovered by telescope and noted by Sir William Herschel on 13th of March 1781. This played a big part in expanding the limits of our neighborhood and strengthening the heliocentric (Sun-centered) view of the Cosmos. Galileo would have been thrilled to see his invention put to such important use. Politically and socially humanity was in rapid flux and the discovery came at a time when revolutions, French and American, were bringing change.

Sir William Herschel was given an annual salary of 200 pounds, by King George III, on proviso he move to Windsor so the royal family could take a good look. The planet was then named George’s Star by Sir William.

Like on Uranus’ twin Neptune a typical morning would see you drown or choke, then be pulverized to snow and be blown away. 

Uranus a la Mode

• The crowded neighborhood would be unwelcome to a space station
• There is plenty of water on Uranus with unlimited Hydrogen and Helium for energy
• Neptune and its’ moon, Titan, is a better choice for life.

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Haiku for Uranus

Neptune’s’ Gemini,

Same beautiful blue dot,

Ammonium high.

More Planets Alive:

Planets Alive: Part 1 – Neptune | Scienceray