Interactive planet view
Explore Uranus in 3D
Uranus is an ice giant with a rotation axis tilted roughly sideways relative to its orbit. Methane in its atmosphere contributes to its blue-green appearance.
- Axial tilt: about 98°
- Year: about 84 Earth years
- Visited once: Voyager 2, 1986
Use the 3D scene to focus on Uranus and compare its distant orbit and selected moons with the inner Solar System.
Model note: This is an artistic educational visualization. Sizes, distances, and time are compressed for visibility; it is not a live ephemeris or a professional astronomy tool.
About Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun, an ice giant about four times wider than Earth. Its axis is tilted about 98°, so it rolls around the Sun on its side; over its 84-year orbit, each pole gets around 42 years of continuous sunlight followed by 42 years of darkness. Methane in its upper atmosphere absorbs red light, giving Uranus its pale blue-green colour.
Beneath the clouds, much of the planet is thought to be a hot, dense fluid of water, methane and ammonia ices. Uranus has 13 known rings — narrow and dark — and more than two dozen moons named after characters from Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, such as Titania, Oberon and Miranda. It was the first planet discovered with a telescope, by William Herschel in 1781, and Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited, flying past in January 1986.
Uranus: frequently asked questions
Why is Uranus tilted on its side?
Scientists think one or more giant collisions early in the Solar System’s history knocked it over, though the exact cause is still debated.
Why is Uranus blue-green?
Methane gas in its upper atmosphere absorbs red light and reflects blue and green light back into space.
How long is a year on Uranus?
About 84 Earth years.
Sources: NASA Science — Uranus · NASA Planetary Fact Sheet.
Tip: click any visible object for its radius and orbital data. Press G to show or hide this guide.