Uranus

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and the third-largest planet in the solar system. The blue-green gas giant has the coldest atmosphere of all the planets in the solar system. Uranus is the only planet in the solar system that orbits the sun on its side, and this extreme tilt is responsible for turning the planet's magnetic fields into a jumbled mess. So far only NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft has studied the planet up close during a flyby in 1986, but researchers are still studying the planet with telescopes on and around Earth.

Latest Updates

An animation shows the strange magnetic field of Uranus. The yellow arrow points toward the sun and the dark blue arrow represents the planet's axis.

Old gas blob from Uranus found in vintage Voyager 2 data

By Meghan Bartels published

Buried inside data Voyager 2 gathered at Uranus more than 30 years ago is the signature of a massive bubble that may have stolen a blob of the planet's gassy atmosphere.

An image of the planet Uranus taken by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986.

Uranus Shines at Its Brightest Tonight: Here's How to See It

By Elizabeth Howell published

You can catch Uranus, one of the solar system's most distant planets, at its brightest tonight.

Skywatchers can find Uranus and the Moon sharing the sky today (Aug. 21).

Look Up! Uranus and the Waning Gibbous Moon Share the Sky

By Chelsea Gohd published

Just before dawn today (Aug. 21), skywatchers will be able to spot both Uranus and the waning gibbous moon.

Tonight, Aug. 12, 2019, Uranus will reverse direction and begin a westward loop.

Uranus 'Backs Up' in the Night Sky Ahead This Week's Full Moon

By Chelsea Gohd published

Tonight, Aug. 12, Uranus will reverse direction and begin a westward, retrograde loop that will last into mid-January, 2020.

Graphic illustration of Uranus with a thin ring structure against a backdrop of stars.

Uranus: Everything you need to know about the coldest planet in the solar system

By Charles Q. Choi last updated

Reference Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and was the first to be discovered with a telescope. We explore this ice giant in more detail here.

A composite image of the atmosphere and rings of Uranus seen in thermal emission.

A Mysterious Glow Warms Rings of Uranus

By Elizabeth Howell published

Some sort of a heat wave has warmed the rings of Uranus, even though the planet orbits far away from the sun.

Uranus, like its neighbor Neptune, has only been studied once, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft — which captured this image on Dec. 18, 1986.

Scientists Want to Probe Atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune

By Meghan Bartels published

It's been decades since a spacecraft visited either Uranus or Neptune — which means scientists are busy dreaming up instruments that could be flown out on the next probe to these ice giants.

NASA's Voyager 2 was the first and latest spacecraft to visit Uranus, capturing this shot of its cloud tops.

Here's What a Spacecraft Orbiting Uranus Could Learn

By Meghan Bartels published

No spacecraft has gotten a close look at Uranus in more than three decades — but scientists know they want to go back, if they can design the right mission to do so.

Uranus and Netpune

Hubble Telescope Watches the Weather on Uranus and Neptune

By Meghan Bartels published

If you don't like your local weather, perhaps you would prefer the atmosphere on Uranus or Neptune — and the Hubble Space Telescope has an update on each planet's current conditions.

Hi-Rez simulation Uranus collision

Why Is Uranus on Its Side? Incredible Simulations Could Solve the Mystery.

By Meghan Bartels published

Solar systems are messy places, but the tools astronomers use to understand these systems can re-create that chaos with surprising beauty.

Uranus hemispheres composite image

Want to See Uranus? A Full Moon Lights the Way

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

Uranus reached opposition on Oct. 23, and if you want to observe the frigid planet this week, look toward the full moon.

Venus Jupiter Masi

Grand Tour: Astronomer Spots 8 Planets in a Single Night (Photos)

By Mike Wall published

planet parade

Planetary Bonanza Tonight: See All the Planets in One Night

By Meghan Bartels published

Why settle for a planet or two when you can catch all of them in just one night of intense skywatching?

Uranus composite

Something Big Crashed into Uranus and Changed It Forever

By Chelsea Gohd published

It turns out that Uranus is so weird because of a massive collision billions of years ago.

superionic water setup

This Ice Is Nearly As Hot As the Sun. Scientists Have Now Made It on Earth.

By Elizabeth Howell published

For the first time, researchers re-created the high-pressure water ice likely found in the interiors of Uranus and Neptune.

uranus atmosphere voyager

Uranus Smells Like Rotten Eggs

By Mike Wall published

The clouds in Uranus' upper atmosphere are composed largely of hydrogen sulfide, the molecule that makes rotten eggs so stinky, a new study suggests.

Venus buzzes Uranus march 2018

Venus and Uranus Get Close in Wednesday's Sky

By Joe Rao published

Uranus

Gravity Assist Podcast: Uranus and Neptune, with Amy Simon

By NASA, Astrobiology Magazine published

NASA's Planetary Science Division Director, Jim Green, talks to NASA Goddard's Amy Simon, who studies the outer planets Uranus and Neptune.

This wider view of the Uranian system with Webb’s NIRCam instrument features the planet Uranus as well as six of its 27 known moons (most of which are too small and faint to be seen in this short exposure). A handful of background objects, including many galaxies, are also seen.

Uranus' moons: A guide to the ice giant's strange tilted moons

By Robert Lea last updated

Reference At the outer edge of the solar system is the coldest planet Uranus, but it isn't alone. The ice giant is orbited by at least 27 moons, some as strange and unique as the ice giant itself.

uranus

Cosmic Crash That Knocked Uranus Sideways Also Made Its Moons

By Charles Q. Choi published

The giant impact from an Earth-size rock that knocked Uranus sideways may have also helped create the tilted planet's moons, a new study finds.