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 in the constellation of
Aries,
at a distance of
Finder Charts
View interactive star map
High 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.
Celestial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
Today's rise,
transit and set times of
Uranus from
Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
Azimuth: 71.6°
Max altitude: 56.9°
Azimuth: 288.4°
- Uranus is
above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Right now it is placed in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 37.23° 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
If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple
customized Quick Access page,
so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.
Distance from Earth
- Uranus is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Right now it is placed in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 37.23° 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
The distance of Uranus from Earth is currently
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
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.
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.
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 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Uranus computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Apparent DiameterDiameter | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Jan 30 | 03h 23m 43s | +18° 21’ 01” | 5.72 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Jan 31 | 03h 23m 43s | +18° 21’ 02” | 5.72 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 01 | 03h 23m 43s | +18° 21’ 05” | 5.72 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 02 | 03h 23m 43s | +18° 21’ 08” | 5.72 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 03 | 03h 23m 44s | +18° 21’ 10” | 5.73 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 04 | 03h 23m 45s | +18° 21’ 15” | 5.73 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 05 | 03h 23m 46s | +18° 21’ 20” | 5.73 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 06 | 03h 23m 47s | +18° 21’ 26” | 5.73 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 07 | 03h 23m 48s | +18° 21’ 33” | 5.73 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 08 | 03h 23m 50s | +18° 21’ 40” | 5.74 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 09 | 03h 23m 52s | +18° 21’ 49” | 5.74 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 10 | 03h 23m 54s | +18° 21’ 58” | 5.74 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 11 | 03h 23m 56s | +18° 22’ 08” | 5.74 | 3.6” | Aries |
| 2025 Feb 12 | 03h 23m 59s | +18° 22’ 18” | 5.74 | 3.6” | Aries |
Additional Resources
- Position and finder charts (see also Where is Uranus?)
- Distance from Earth (see also How far is Uranus from Earth?)
- When does Uranus rise and set?
- Brightness (see also How bright is Uranus?)
- Physical data. Detailed information about physical properties of Uranus, such as mass and geometric properties.
- 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Uranus for the past and next 7 days.
- Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Uranus in the sky from your location.
- Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Uranus with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.