About this expedition
What is it like to fly through the rings of Uranus?
Drift through the narrow, charcoal-dark rings of Uranus in an imagined probe, with a real NASA 3D model of Voyager 2 flying beside you. The turquoise planet fills half the sky, and the rings curve around it as thin concentric bands — nothing like Saturn’s broad, bright sheets.
Uranus is an ice giant that rolls around the Sun on its side: its axis is tilted about 97.8° (NASA Planetary Fact Sheet), so each pole gets roughly 42 years of continuous daylight followed by 42 years of night. Its 13 known rings are narrow and darker than coal, reflecting only a few percent of the sunlight that hits them. Methane in its atmosphere absorbs red light and gives the planet its blue-green colour. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft ever to visit, flying past in January 1986.
Quick facts
- Gravity
- 8.87 m/s² — about 90% of Earth’s
- Axial tilt
- About 97.8° — it spins on its side (NASA Planetary Fact Sheet)
- Rings
- 13 known, narrow and very dark
- Length of a year
- About 84 Earth years
- Cloud-top temperature
- About −195 °C
- Visited by
- Voyager 2, January 1986
Five discoveries to find
- The ring vista — the thin rings, with the ε ring the brightest of them.
- A ring charcoal lump — a nearly black ring particle in the specimen viewer.
- The dark gap — the quiet space between narrow rings.
- The shepherd moonlet — a small moon that keeps a ring edge sharp.
- The 97.8° tilt — a marker globe that shows how far Uranus leans.
How to explore
Press Begin the flight. The probe cruises forward on its own; W A S D drift sideways, Space rises and C sinks below the ring plane. Drag to look around; on phones and tablets a touch pad appears. Press G to compare the local gravity with Earth’s, P for photo mode, and E to record a discovery in your journal — progress is saved on your own device.
Science and artistic reconstruction
The ring count, darkness and the planet’s tilt come from Voyager 2 and telescope observations; Voyager 2 is a real NASA 3D model. The band layout, moonlet and tilt marker are artistic reconstructions, and the scene is compressed for viewing.
Keep exploring
关于本次探索
穿越天王星的环是什么感觉？
以虚构探测器的身份漂过天王星狭窄、炭黑色的环系，旅行者 2 号的真实 NASA 三维模型在身旁伴飞。青绿色的行星占据半边天空，环像细细的同心弧围绕着它——与土星宽阔明亮的环面完全不同。
天王星是一颗躺着绕太阳公转的冰巨星：自转轴倾角约 97.8°（NASA 行星概况表），因此每个极点大约有 42 年的连续日照，随后是 42 年的黑夜。它已知的 13 条环狭窄而黑于煤炭，只反射照到它们上的少量光线。大气上层的甲烷吸收红光，让天王星呈现蓝绿色。旅行者 2 号是唯一造访过它的探测器，1986 年 1 月飞掠而过。
快速数据
- 引力
- 8.87 m/s²，约为地球的 90%
- 轴倾角
- 约 97.8°，横躺着自转（NASA 行星概况表）
- 环
- 已知 13 条，狭窄且极暗
- 公转周期
- 约 84 个地球年
- 云顶温度
- 约 −195 °C
- 造访者
- 旅行者 2 号，1986 年 1 月
五个发现
- 环系远眺 — 薄薄的环，其中 ε 环最亮。
- 炭黑色的环块 — 标本查看器中几乎全黑的环颗粒。
- 暗色缝隙 — 狭窄环带之间安静的空间。
- 牧羊小卫星 — 让环边缘保持锐利的小卫星。
- 97.8° 倾角 — 标记球展示天王星横躺的程度。
如何探索
点击“开始飞行”。探测器会自行向前；W A S D 横向漂移，空格上升，C 下沉至环面之下。拖动鼠标环顾四周。
科学与艺术重建
环的数量、暗度与行星倾角来自旅行者 2 号与望远镜观测；旅行者 2 号是真实 NASA 三维模型。环带布局、小卫星和倾角标记是艺术重建，场景也经过压缩以便观看。