• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Space / How Is the Planet Uranus’s Rotation Tilted On Its Axis and What Does a Retrograde Rotation Mean?

How Is the Planet Uranus’s Rotation Tilted On Its Axis and What Does a Retrograde Rotation Mean?

April 28, 2020 by Karen Hill

The planet Uranus’s axis is tilted in a peculiar way.

Earth’s axis tilts at 23.5°; Uranus’s axis tilts at 97.9°, which is at more than a right (90°) angle.

Imagine Earth’s poles being located near the equator.

The planet, however, still rotates around its north-south axis.

Because it is tilted more than 90°, Uranus’s rotation is technically retrograde: from east to west rather than from west to east, as on Earth.

Because Uranus is a gas giant, the planet has varying rotational speeds.

Since Uranus’s axis is tilted more than 90° from the vertical plane, the planet appears to rotate on its side.

Technically, Uranus has a retrograde rotation, in the opposite direction from most other planets

Related Facts

  • What Is the Best Way To Demonstrate How the Planet Uranus Is Tilted On Its Axis With a Sphere?
  • Why Does the Planet Venus Rotate Backwards and What Is the Reverse Rotation of a Planet Called?
  • Why Is an Image In a Mirror Inverted Left To Right But Not Top To Bottom and How Is a Mirror Image Reversed?
  • What Is the Axial Tilt of Uranus and Why Is the Axis of Uranus Tilted At Such an Extreme Angle?
  • How Fast Does the Planet Saturn Rotate Around Its Axis and Why Is Saturn’s Rotational Speed Variable?
  • How Fast Does Jupiter Rotate On Its Axis and Why Does the Atmosphere On Jupiter Rotate At Different Speeds?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Why Are There Gaps Between the Rings Around Saturn and What Are the Divisions In the Ring System Called?
Next Post: When Was Uranus Discovered, How Did the Planet Uranus Get Its Name, and What Does Uranus Mean In Greek? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy