Credit: Voyager 2 Team/NASA
As we move outward in the solar system, we come to Uranus, a planet that was unknown to the ancients, having been discovered in relatively modern times (1781). Another gas giant, its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium, but also includes different kinds of ice - methane, water and ammonia.
Credit: E. Karkoschka et al. (University of Arizona)/NICMOS/HST/NASA
Unlike the other gas giant planets, Uranus doesn't have a lot of features visible in its atmosphere. The image above, from the Hubble space telescope, was taken in infrared light. Cloud bands and formations become prominent, and the Uranian rings can be seen as well.
Credit: NASA/ESA/L. Sromovsky (Univ. of Wis., Madison)/H. Hammel (Space Science Inst.)/K. Rages (SETI)
Another beautiful Hubble image shows Uranus's moon, Ariel, in transit across the planet's surface. This is actually an unusual alignment because the orbits of the Uranian moons are such that the moons rarely cross in front of the planet to cast a shadow.
Credit: The Voyager Project/NASA
Rocky, icy Titania, another of the Uranian satellites, was imaged by Voyager 2, the only space craft to visit the planet. Titania is the largest moon in the system and is named, like many of its neighboring moons, for a character from a Shakespearean play.
Credit: Astrogeology Team (USGS)/The Voyager Project
Voyager's image of the moon Oberon features a curious crater, just right of center - a mysterious face dubbed Hamlet (no kidding).Speaking of names ... can we even begin to count the number of schoolchildren who have laughed themselves silly over Uranus? It actually was originally named the Georgium Sidus, after King George III of England. But in keeping with the convention of naming the planets after gods, "Uranus" was proposed, that being the name of the Greek god of the sky. So laugh if you must, get in touch with your inner middle school self, and enjoy these pictures of Uranus.
