{"id":21496,"date":"2021-07-28T11:38:17","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T11:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=96894"},"modified":"2021-07-28T07:56:35","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T07:56:35","slug":"pictures-of-uranus","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/pictures-of-uranus\/","title":{"rendered":"Pictures of Uranus"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Lee Dyson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 28 July 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Uranus isn\u2019t much to look at. When Voyager 2 flew past the planet in 1986, it found a uniform ball that is tinted sky blue by methane in the atmosphere. But looking beyond the calm exterior reveals a planet where winds blow at speeds in excess of 900km\/h, in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n

While most planets\u2019 spin axes are at right angles to their orbits, Uranus has been knocked over onto its side.<\/p>\n

No one is entirely certain why, but the lead theory is that an Earth-sized planetoid collided with Uranus early in the Solar System\u2019s history, tipping it over.<\/p>\n

\""Keck\"<\/div>
Uranus is surrounded by a thin ring, seen here in infrared images from the Keck telescope.<\/span><\/figcaption> Lawrence Sromovsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison\/W.W. Keck Observatory<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

However, Uranus isn\u2019t always as calm as when Voyager 2 spied on it.<\/p>\n

As the planet takes 85 years to orbit the Sun, the seasons last for decades and the probe passed by during the planet\u2019s northern summer.<\/p>\n

When Uranus passed into autumn in 2007, long-range observations found the planet seemed to wake up, with storms creating bright spots the size of North America in the planet\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Uranus also has rings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Facts about Uranus<\/strong><\/h1>\n