Uranus
Seventh planet from the Sun.
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Gas giant
Giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium.
Giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium.
The term “gas giant” was originally synonymous with “giant planet”, but in the 1990s it became known that Uranus and Neptune are really a distinct class of giant planets, being composed mainly of heavier volatile substances (which are referred to as “ices”).
Giant planet
The giant planets constitute a diverse type of planet much larger than Earth.
The giant planets constitute a diverse type of planet much larger than Earth.
There are four known giant planets in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
William Herschel
German-born British astronomer and composer.
German-born British astronomer and composer.
This would, after several weeks of verification and consultation with other astronomers, be confirmed to be a new planet, eventually given the name of Uranus.
Voyager 2
Space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere.
Space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere.
A part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, Voyager 1, on a trajectory that took longer to reach gas giants Jupiter and Saturn but enabled further encounters with ice giants Uranus and Neptune.
Volatiles
Volatiles are the group of chemical elements and chemical compounds that can be readily vaporized.
Volatiles are the group of chemical elements and chemical compounds that can be readily vaporized.
Thus, Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants, and Uranus and Neptune are ice giants, even though the vast majority of the "gas" and "ice" in their interiors is a hot, highly dense fluid that gets denser as the center of the planet is approached.
John Flamsteed
English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal.
English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal.
He also made the first recorded observations of Uranus, although he mistakenly catalogued it as a star, and he laid the foundation stone for the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
Methane
Chemical compound with the chemical formula .
Chemical compound with the chemical formula .
This is what gives Uranus and Neptune their blue or bluish-green colors, as light passes through their atmospheres containing methane and is then scattered back out.
Saturn
Sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter.
Sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter.
Its equatorial and polar radii differ by almost 10%: 60,268 km versus 54,364 km. Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, the other giant planets in the Solar System, are also oblate but to a lesser extent.
Atmosphere
Layer of gas or layers of gases that envelope a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body.
Layer of gas or layers of gases that envelope a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body.
The low temperatures and higher gravity of the Solar System's giant planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—allow them more readily to retain gases with low molecular masses.
Ammonia
Compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3.
Compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3.
Ammonia is also found throughout the Solar System on Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, among other places: on smaller, icy bodies such as Pluto, ammonia can act as a geologically important antifreeze, as a mixture of water and ammonia can have a melting point as low as 173 K if the ammonia concentration is high enough and thus allow such bodies to retain internal oceans and active geology at a far lower temperature than would be possible with water alone.