How Far Away Is Uranus

Uranus, the blue-green planet, is four times wider than our Earth at a diameter of 31,763 miles (51,118 km). Orbiting at 1.viii billion miles (2.ix billion km) from the Sunday, Uranus takes 84 Earth years to complete one orbit.

At this distance from the Sun, what does a day and a year on Uranus look like? And, how long would it take to become at that place?

Allow'southward find out.

How Far Abroad is Uranus From the Sunday?

Planet Uranus is 1.7 billion miles (2.v billion km) from the Sun at its closest, and one.89 billion miles (3 billion km) abroad at its farthest.

Yous'll find that at that place isn't a significant departure betwixt the closest and furthest distances. That's because Uranus's orbit is about round, with an orbital eccentricity of just 0.04. On average, information technology is 1.eight billion miles (2.9 billion km) away from the Sunday, and its closest and furthest distances are not very unlike from each other.

How Far Away is Uranus From the Earth?

Uranus is one.vi billion miles (2.six billion km) when it is closest to Globe and ane.98 billion miles (3.2 billion km) when it is the furthest from Earth.

The distance of Uranus from our planet varies much more than its distance from the Sun considering sometimes we are on the aforementioned side of the Sun equally Uranus and, at other times, we are on the contrary side of the Sun.

When Uranus is directly behind the Sun (known as a solar conjunction), Uranus, the Dominicus, and Earth are in alignment with the Sun in the middle. At this point, Uranus is as far abroad as it tin can be from Earth, at nearly 1.98 billion miles (3.2 billion km).

As the two planets continue on their orbits, the distance between them shrinks. Eventually, Uranus's closest arroyo to Earth occurs when both planets are in line with the Lord's day just, this time, Earth is between the Sun and Uranus, i.east. Uranus and Earth are on the same side of the Sun.

This moment is known as Uranus's opposition. It occurs once per year and the distance between Earth and Uranus at that time shrinks to around ane.half dozen billion miles (2.6 billion km).

When it is closest to Earth, Uranus shines at magnitude 5.seven. Although Uranus is brightest and largest at this time, it is not possible to distinguish it from other stars without the aid of a telescope.

How Long Would It Take to Reach Uranus?

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft that visited Uranus, and information technology took ix and a one-half years to become there. Light, on the other hand, travels to Uranus from Earth in merely 2.4 hours when the ii planets are at their closest.

So far, in this article, we have learned of the distance from World to Uranus at two important points in its orbit — one when the planet is closest and the other when information technology is the farthest. We tin can at present proceed to understand how long it takes to go to Uranus.

At that place are two ways to go well-nigh this. First, nosotros will wait at the time light takes to achieve Uranus from Globe.

Next, we will board a spaceship (imaginatively, of course) and see how long it'll accept us to travel to Uranus

Let's go!

How Long Does Light Take to Travel from Uranus to World?

Lite travels the fastest of all known objects considering it has no mass. Its speed is an unimaginable 186,282 miles per second. At this rate, light takes 499 seconds to attain Earth from the Lord's day.

The average distance betwixt the Earth and Sun is known as an Astronomical Unit. Let's take a look at the shortest, longest, and the average time for low-cal to travel between the ii planets.

Shortest Altitude: 1.vi billion miles (2.6 billion km) = 17.2 AU

Calculation: 17.2*499 = 8,583 seconds = two.38 hours.

Boilerplate Distance: 1.7 billion miles (2.v billion km) = xviii.2 AU

Calculation: 18.two*499 = ix,082 seconds = ii.52 hours.

Furthest Distance: 1.98 billion miles (three.2 billion km) = 21.3 AU

Calculation: 21.3*499 = 10,629 seconds = 2.95 hours.

At its average distance of 1.7 billion miles (2.5 billion km), light takes ii.v hours to reach Uranus from World. As the planet orbits the Lord's day, this time varies between 2.38 hours and 2.95 hours.

This also means that when you wait at Uranus from a telescope, you are looking at information technology as information technology looked at least two.4 hours ago!

How Long Does it Have a Spaceship to Travel to Uranus?

But one spacecraft, Voyager 2, has visited Uranus and so far. Information technology took 9½ years to get there.

Mission	Launch Date	Reached Uranus	Travel Time
Voyager 2	Baronial twenty, 1977	January 24, 1986	9½ years

How Long is a Day on Uranus?

Uranus rotates with a speed of 2.59 km/south or 9,320 km/h. At this speed, Uranus takes just 17 hours and 14 minutes to consummate a rotation on its axis — which is the length of a mean solar day on the planet.

Nailing the length of a 24-hour interval boils downwardly to calculating a planet's rotational speed, which is usually washed by measuring the rotational speed of its core. This is harder for ice giants considering they have a very pocket-sized solid core engulfed by icy layers, making it difficult to get accurate measurements.

Notwithstanding we know is sidereal rotation, which measures its rotation with respect to the stars, gives us the figure higher up. Defining a day by reference to the sunday, i.east. the time betwixt the sun reaching its highest signal in the heaven and returning to information technology is complicated by the farthermost axial tilt of Uranus, which effectively lies on its side.

The touch of this the Sun essentially only returns to the same point in the heaven once per year. Then, arguably, a solar day on Uranus is as long every bit 84 Earth years!

How Long is a Year on Uranus?

Uranus takes 84 Globe years to orbit the Sun. While a day on Uranus is shorter than that on Earth, its year is much longer. This means that Uranus rotates faster than Globe but orbits the Sun slower.

The farther out a body is from the Sun, the slower it orbits around it and the further it has to travel to complete i circuit. This is why the giants at the edge of our solar arrangement take then long to complete a single year. Just see how long Neptune takes to orbit the Sun, for case.

Are There Seasons on Uranus?

Uranus is tilted by 97.77 degrees. Its axial tilt combined with its lengthy year leads to farthermost seasons on the planet. Each season on Uranus stretches for 21 World years.

During summers and winters, only i pole faces the Sun while the other remains in complete darkness.

For spring and autumn, Uranus' day and night shifts every 17 hours. This causes rapid temperature changes and strong winds in its turbulent atmosphere.

Summary

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and orbits the star at 1.8 billion miles (two.nine billion km). Its orbit is nearly round with an eccentricity of just 0.04, which is why in that location isn't a significant difference between its closest and furthest distances from the Sunday or Earth.

Voyager two is the but spacecraft that has visited Uranus and so far, and information technology took ix½ years to get in that location.

A mean solar day on Uranus lasts just 17 hours just a yr takes 84 World years to complete because Uranus orbits slowly around the Lord's day and has a vast altitude to cover.

This, combined with its axial tilt of 97 degrees, leads to extreme seasons. Each pole faces the Dominicus for 21 years, leading to 21-yr-long summers and winters.

Written past Sharmila Kuthuner