Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun, and it is the third-largest planet in the solar system. It has a diameter of 50,724 kilometers and a mass of 8.68 x 10^25 kilograms, making it about 14.5 times more massive than Earth. Uranus is an ice giant planet, primarily composed of water, methane, and ammonia, and has the coldest atmosphere in the solar system with temperatures that can dip down to -224°C (-371°F). The planet has a tilted axis of rotation, which causes it to rotate on its side with its poles pointing towards the sun. Uranus has a day length of approximately 17.2 Earth hours and an orbital period of 84 Earth years. The planet has 27 known moons, with the largest being Titania and Oberon. Uranus also has a faint ring system, which was discovered in 1977 during a stellar occultation. Uranus has been explored by only one spacecraft, NASA's Voyager 2, which flew by the planet in 1986, providing the most detailed images and data of the planet and its moons to date.
Uranus is currently in the constellation of Aries, at a distance of 3,070,279,280 kilometers from Earth.
View interactive star map
Today's rise, transit and set times of Uranus from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- Uranus is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
- Right now it is placed in the East direction at an altitude of 16° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, Uranus is barely visible to naked eye under a clear and dark sky, easily visible with the help of a small binocular.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Uranus is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Uranus?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Uranus in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Uranus Distance from Earth
The distance of Uranus from Earth is currently 3,070,279,280 kilometers, equivalent to 20.523549 Astronomical Units. Light takes 2 hours, 50 minutes and 41.3493 seconds to travel from Uranus and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Uranus from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of Uranus from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Uranus to Earth
Between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499, the closest approach of Uranus to Earth happens on Sat Mar 21 2471 at a distance of 17.260466 Astronomical Units, or 2,582,128,904 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Uranus Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Uranus, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Uranus Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Uranus. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 50724 km | 3.9809 |
| Mass | 86.8103 x 1024 kg | 14.5358 |
| Density | 1.27 gr/cm3 | 0.2303 |
| Escape Velocity | 21.38 km/s | 1.9106 |
| Sideral Rotation | -17.2399 hours | -0.7203 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -7.19 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.51 |
Uranus 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Uranus computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Uranus in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Apr 12 | 03h 14m 35s | +17° 44’ 44” | 5.85 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 13 | 03h 14m 48s | +17° 45’ 34” | 5.85 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 14 | 03h 15m 01s | +17° 46’ 26” | 5.85 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 15 | 03h 15m 14s | +17° 47’ 17” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 16 | 03h 15m 26s | +17° 48’ 07” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 17 | 03h 15m 39s | +17° 49’ 00” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 18 | 03h 15m 52s | +17° 49’ 51” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 19 | 03h 16m 06s | +17° 50’ 44” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 20 | 03h 16m 19s | +17° 51’ 35” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 21 | 03h 16m 32s | +17° 52’ 27” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 22 | 03h 16m 46s | +17° 53’ 21” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 23 | 03h 16m 59s | +17° 54’ 14” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 24 | 03h 17m 13s | +17° 55’ 05” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |
| 2024 Apr 25 | 03h 17m 27s | +17° 55’ 59” | 5.86 | 3.4” | Aries |