• 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 / What Is Uranus Made of and Why Does the Planet Uranus Have Such a Low Internal Temperature?

What Is Uranus Made of and Why Does the Planet Uranus Have Such a Low Internal Temperature?

March 15, 2020 by Karen Hill

The planet Uranus has a mass that is about 14.5 times of the planet Earth, and it is the least massive of the giant planets in our solar system.

Uranus lacks a distinct equatorial bulge and an interior source of heat, which means that it probably does not have a molten or liquid interior.

Its core is likely rock, such as the other gas giants have, surrounded by a 6,000mile-thick (9,600-km-thick) layer of ice made from ammonia, methane, and water.

A layer of hydrogen, helium, and methane gases extends to the cloud tops.

Uranus appears to have much lower internal heat than that of the other giant planets.

The low internal temperature of the planet Uranus is still not understood.

Uranus’s near twin in size and composition, Neptune, radiates 2.61 times as much energy into space as it receives from the Sun.

Astronomers hypothesize that Uranus was hit by a supermassive impactor, which caused it to expel most of its primordial heat, leaving it with a much lower core temperature.

Related Facts

  • What Is the Seventh Planet From the Sun, How Big Is Uranus, and How Far Is the Planet Uranus From the Sun?
  • When Was Uranus Discovered, How Did the Planet Uranus Get Its Name, and What Does Uranus Mean In Greek?
  • How Cold Is the Planet Uranus and What Effects Does Uranus’s Cold Temperature Have On Its Atmosphere?
  • What Is the Difference Between Heat and Temperature?
  • How Cold Is the Planet Neptune and Why Is Neptune About the Same Temperature As Uranus?
  • Where Is Planet X Located, Why Was Pluto Called Planet X, and Why Hasn’t Planet X Been Found?

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: « How Many Rings Does Uranus Have and What Color Are the Rings Around the Planet Uranus?
Next Post: How Was Neptune Discovered and How Did Astronomers Determine That the Planet Neptune Existed Beyond Uranus? »

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