Uranus facts for kids

Meet Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is about four times as wide as Earth. Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants. Uranus and Neptune are called ice giants.

It looks blue-green because of a gas called methane in its air.

A planet on its side

Uranus is tipped over by almost 98 degrees. Uranus is tipped so far over that it rolls round the Sun like a ball. Scientists think something huge crashed into it long ago.

Days and years

A day on Uranus lasts about 17 hours. A year, one trip round the Sun, lasts about 84 Earth years.

Moons and rings

Uranus has 29 known moons. They are named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.

It also has two sets of rings. All four giant planets have rings, but Saturn's are by far the brightest.

Finding Uranus

Uranus was found in 1781 by the astronomer William Herschel. Only one spacecraft has ever visited Uranus and Neptune: Voyager 2, in the 1980s.

Uranus in a nutshell

• Place from the Sun: seventh
• Kind of planet: an ice giant
• Size: about four times as wide as Earth
• A day: about 17 hours
• A year: about 84 Earth years
• Moons: 29 known
• Found: 1781, by William Herschel

Quick quiz: Uranus

Try these, then tap Show answer under each one.