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Near the time of the equinoxes, the Sun faces the equator of Uranus, giving a period of day–night cycles similar to those seen on most of the other planets. One result of this axis orientation is that, averaged over the Uranian year, the near-polar regions of Uranus receive a greater energy input from the Sun than its equatorial regions.
The orbits of the regular moons are nearly coplanar with Uranus's equator, which is tilted 97.77° to its orbit. Uranus's irregular moons have elliptical and strongly inclined (mostly retrograde) orbits at large distances from the planet. [3] William Herschel discovered the first two moons, Titania and Oberon, in 1787.
According to the IAU's explicit count, there are eight planets in the Solar System; four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) and four giant planets, which can be divided further into two gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and two ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). When excluding the Sun, the four giant planets account for more than ...
Among Uranus's five major moons, Ariel is the second closest to the planet, orbiting at the distance of about 190,000 km. [f] Its orbit has a small eccentricity and is inclined very little relative to the equator of Uranus. [3] Its orbital period is around 2.5 Earth days, coincident with its rotational period.
Cupid is an inner satellite of Uranus.It was discovered by Mark R. Showalter and Jack J. Lissauer in 2003 using the Hubble Space Telescope. [6] It was named after a character in William Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens.
Oberon orbits Uranus at a distance of about 584,000 km, being the farthest from the planet among its five major moons. [e] Oberon's orbit has a small orbital eccentricity and inclination relative to the equator of Uranus. [4] Its orbital period is around 13.5 days, coincident with its rotational period.
For gaseous or fluid bodies, such as stars and giant planets, the period of rotation varies from the object's equator to its pole due to a phenomenon called differential rotation. Typically, the stated rotation period for a giant planet (such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) is its internal rotation period, as determined from the rotation ...
Titania orbits Uranus at the distance of about 436,000 kilometres (271,000 mi), being the second farthest from the planet among its five major moons after Oberon. [g] Titania's orbit has a small eccentricity and is inclined very little relative to the equator of Uranus. [4] Its orbital period is around 8.7 days, coincident with its rotational ...