Ice Giant · Tilted 98°
Uranus
Uranus rolls around the Sun on its side with a 98° axial tilt - likely caused by a massive collision early in the Solar System. This creates the most extreme seasons of any planet: 42 years of continuous daylight followed by 42 years of darkness at the poles.
Overview
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Atmosphere composition
Hydrogen
83%
Helium
15%
Methane
2.3%
Hydrogen Deuteride
0.009%
Other traces
<0.01%
Notable features
- Axial tilt of 97.77° - essentially orbits on its side
- Coldest atmosphere of any planet at −224°C
- 27 moons named after Shakespeare & Pope characters
- 13 dark rings discovered in 1977
Space missions
| Mission | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Voyager 2 | 1986 | Only spacecraft to visit Uranus - 5-hour flyby |
| Uranus Orbiter & Probe | 2030s planned | NASA flagship mission, highest priority in 2023 survey |
NASA images
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Images courtesy of NASA Image & Video Library.