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|origname=Roman (and Greek) name for heaven and father of Saturn.<ref name=usgs/>
|origname=Roman (and Greek) name for heaven and father of Saturn.<ref name=usgs/>
|primary=Sun
|primary=Sun
|periapsis=18.286 AU
|periapsis=2,741,300,000 km (18.324 AU)<ref name=uranusfact>[http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/uranusfact.html Uranus Fact Sheet], [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]], January 31, 2005. Accessed May 4, 2008.</ref>
|apoapsis=3,003,620,000 km (20.078 AU)<ref name=uranusfact/>
|semimajor=2,872,460,000 km (19.201 AU)<ref name=uranusfact/>
|bode=19.6 AU
|bode=19.6 AU
|circumference=120.515 AU
|circumference=120.515 AU
|eccentricity=0.046
|eccentricity=0.0457<ref name=uranusfact/>
|sidereal=84.0016846 a<ref name=ssdhoriz>"[http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi HORIZONS on Uranus]." ''Solar System Dynamics'', Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, August 7, 2007. Accessed April 25, 2008.</ref>
|sidereal=84.0016846 a<ref name=ssdhoriz>"[http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi HORIZONS on Uranus]." ''Solar System Dynamics'', Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, August 7, 2007. Accessed April 25, 2008.</ref>
|synodic=369.65 da
|synodic=369.65 da<ref name=uranusfact/>
|orbitspeed=6.8352 km/s<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|orbitspeed=6.8352 km/s<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|inclination=0.744°
|inclination=0.744°
|siderealday=-17.24 h<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|siderealday=-17.24 h<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|axialtilt=97.86°<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|axialtilt=97.86°<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|mass=8.6832 * 10<sup>25</sup> kg (14.53 * earth)<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|massmt=8.6832 * 10<sup>25</sup> kg (14.53 * earth)<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|density=1,318 kg/m³<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|density=1,318 kg/m³<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|surfacegrav=8.69 m/s²<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|surfacegrav=8.69 m/s²<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|meantemp=76 K<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|meantemp=76 K<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|moons=27
|moons=27
|composition=83% [[hydrogen]], 15% [[helium]] and 2% [[methane]]<ref name=Arnett/><ref name=rst>Short, Nicholas M., Sr. "[http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect19/Sect19_20.html Uranus and Neptune, and their Satellites; the Pluto dwarfs]." Remote Sensing Tutorial, Goddard Space Flight Center, [[NASA]]. Accessed April 30, 2008.</ref>
|composition=83% [[hydrogen]], 15% [[helium]] and 2% [[methane]]<ref name=Arnett>Arnett, Bill. "[http://www.nineplanets.org/uranus.html Uranus]." <http://www.nineplanets.org/> Accessed January 22, 2008.</ref><ref name=rst>Short, Nicholas M., Sr. "[http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect19/Sect19_20.html Uranus and Neptune, and their Satellites; the Pluto dwarfs]." Remote Sensing Tutorial, Goddard Space Flight Center, [[NASA]]. Accessed April 30, 2008.</ref>
|color=blue-green
|color=blue-green
|albedo=0.51<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|albedo=0.51<ref name=ssdhoriz/>
|mfd=0.228 G (2.28 * 10<sup>-5</sup> T)<ref name=uranusfact/>
|pmdm=3 * 10<sup>24</sup> N-m/T<ref name=Humphreys2>Humphreys, D. R. "[http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&page=329 Beyond Neptune: Voyager II Supports Creation]." [[Institute for Creation Research]]. Accessed April 30, 2008</ref>
|cmdm=2.05 * 10<sup>25</sup> N-m/T<ref name=Humphreys>Humphreys, D. R. "[http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/21/21_3/21_3.html The Creation of Planetary Magnetic Fields]." ''[[Creation Research Society Quarterly]]'' 21(3), December 1984. Accessed April 29, 2008.</ref>
|mdt=3195 a<ref name=calc>Calculated from observed present magnetic dipole moment and expected magnetic dipole moment at creation.</ref>
|mhl=2215 a<ref name=calc/>
}}
}}
'''Uranus''' is the seventh [[planet]] from the [[sun]], and the third largest. To superficial appearances, it is featureless and dull. Yet the circumstances of its formation, and the characteristics of the system of moons and rings that encircle it, make it one of the most remarkable planets in all the [[solar system]].
'''Uranus''' is the seventh [[planet]] from the [[sun]], and the third largest. To superficial appearances, it is featureless and dull. Yet the circumstances of its formation, and the characteristics of the system of moons and rings that encircle it, make it one of the most remarkable planets in all the [[solar system]].
=== Atmosphere ===
=== Atmosphere ===
[[Voyager 2]] did not resolve many more features than can be seen through an ordinary earthbound telescope. But seven years of observation by the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] have shown that Uranus's atmosphere is quite active. It has even developed a visible storm (the dark spot), which Voyager 2 did not capture.
[[Voyager 2]] did not resolve many more features than can be seen through an ordinary earthbound telescope. But seven years of observation by the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] have shown that Uranus's atmosphere is quite active. It has even developed a visible storm (the dark spot), which Voyager 2 did not capture.
=== Magnetosphere ===
Uranus has a magnetic field, whose axis is oriented 60° away from its rotational axis and, furthermore, is displaced from the center of mass by as much as one-third the planet's radius. Comparison of Uranus' present magnetic dipole moment with the expected magnetic dipole moment at creation<ref name=Humphreys/> suggests a magnetic-field half-life of 2215 Julian years, slightly more than 1.5 times the half-life of the magnetic field of [[earth]].
== Ring system ==
== Ring system ==
=== The magnetic field ===
=== The magnetic field ===
The strength of Uranus' magnetic field presented a problem for the evolutionary model when Voyager 2 flew by the planet in 1986. According to the classic dynamo theory, Uranus should not have an appreciable magnetic dipole moment. That it has, did not surprise creationists, because Dr. [[Russell Humphreys]] predicted its strength from his own model of the creation of celestial magnetic fields. Humphreys published his model two years before Voyager reconnoitered Uranus.<ref name=Humphreys/><ref name=Humphreys2/>
As mentioned, Uranus' magnetic axis is 60 degrees displaced from Uranus' axis of rotation. It is also displaced from the planet's center by about one-third of the planet's radius. The dynamo theory cannot account for such vast discrepancies. Humphreys' model says nothing about the alignment of a body's magnetic axis with respect to its rotational axis, so these findings do not compromise this model. Humphreys suggests that the displacement results from the asymmetric accretion of additional matter into Uranus' core after the planet's creation. The dynamo theory would have difficulty with this concept, because a dynamo requires a liquid core.<ref name=Humphreys2/>
=== Radiation of energy ===
=== Radiation of energy ===