Facts about Uranus
by penny hawkins
1. often referred to as an 'ice giant' planet
2. about every 42 years, the pole in the sun switches
3. upper atmosphere covered by methane haze
4. two outer rings
5. methane haze hides storms underneath
6. ring particles range from small boulder sized to dust-sized
7. probably formed when moon(s) were broken in an impact
8. two images founded in Hubble Space Telescope images
9. moons named after characters from Shakespeare and Pope's works
10. only one spacecraft has flown past Uranus: Voyager 2 in 1986 at a distance of 81, 500 km
11. too dim to have been seen by the ancients
12. seventh planet from sun
13. not visible to the naked eye
14. at first mistaken for comet
15. name comes from ancient Greek deity Ourarius
16. eleven inner rings
17. first rings discovered in 1977
18. two outer rings founded in Hubble Space Telescope images between 2003 and 2005
19. some moons rock
