Uranus: The Sideways Ice Giant
Discover the most unusual planet in our solar system - a tilted world of ice, rings, and extreme seasons rolling through space
Uranus Quick Facts
Fascinating Uranus Facts
Sideways World
Uranus literally rolls along its orbital path like a ball, with each pole experiencing 42 years of continuous daylight followed by 42 years of darkness.
Diamond Rain
The extreme pressure and temperature inside Uranus may create diamond rain, with carbon compressed into diamonds that fall toward the core.
Invisible Rings
Uranus's rings are so dark they reflect only 2% of sunlight - they're nearly invisible and were only discovered in 1977.
Literary Moons
All 27 moons are named after characters from Shakespeare and Alexander Pope - the only planet with moons named after literary characters.
Magnetic Mystery
Uranus's magnetic field is tilted 59° from its rotation axis and offset from the center - completely unlike any other planet's magnetic field.
Ice Giant
Despite being called an ice giant, Uranus's interior reaches 5,000°C - hotter than the Sun's surface, but still considered "icy" by planetary standards.
The Voyager 2 Legacy
Voyager 2's 1986 flyby remains our only close-up look at Uranus, providing nearly all our detailed knowledge of this ice giant.
The spacecraft discovered 10 new moons, confirmed the ring system, and revealed the planet's unusual magnetic field configuration.
Despite being visited only once, Uranus continues to surprise us with its unique sideways orientation and extreme seasonal changes.
Extreme Seasons of Uranus
Summer/Winter Solstice
One pole faces the Sun continuously for 42 years while the other pole remains in complete darkness. Temperature differences between hemispheres are surprisingly small due to slow atmospheric circulation.
Spring/Fall Equinox
The Sun shines equally on both hemispheres, and Uranus appears to spin "normally" like other planets. This occurs only twice during the 84-year orbital period.