Winter on Uranus is 21 years long. Seasons are the result of how close to the sun a planet is as it spins on its axis. Summer occurs when planets tilt the closest to the sun, and winter comes at their furthest positioning from the sun. Uranus is different from the other planets because instead of resting on an axis like a spinning top, the planet is positioned on its side. Its seasons are determined by which hemisphere is facing the sun. However, since Uranus doesn’t turn on an axis, its seasons don’t change until the planet’s north and south poles slowly reverse. The process takes approximately 21 years to complete and result in a new season.
More about Uranus:
- Uranus was the first planet that was discovered with the use of a telescope, in 1781 by Sir William Herschel.
- One year on Uranus, or the amount of time it takes to completely orbit the Sun, is roughly the equivalent of 84 Earth years.
- Uranus is the coldest planet in the solar system. Its temperatures are as cold as negative 243 degrees Fahrenheit (negative 153 degrees Celsius).
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Discussion Comments
Maybe I shouldn't be, but I'm actually surprised to hear that winter on Uranus is so long. Maybe it's due to the fact that since everyone lives on Earth, they always expect time and seasons to be the same, and in the case of winter, they expect it to be only a few months at most.
However, we can definitely see from reading this article, the isn't the case. In fact, if you're reading this article, does anyone else wonder if we would age differently if were to live on different planets besides Earth? I mean after all, think of it this way.
If we were to age faster or slower on different planets, it wouldn't just be because of the way the planet spins on the axis, but also the atmosphere as well. Not to mention that the gravity and temperatures could affect us in many different ways.
Overall, I feel that this article does a very good job at indirectly showing not only how different planets are, but even more so, how seasons and times are a lot different as well. Does anyone else agree with me?
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