A Boring Planet? Uranus
In A Boring Planet? Uranus, Professor Brian Cox explains what scientists have learned about Uranus, a planet described as featureless and boring. But Uranus does have a mystery! How did it end up tipped on its side with rings that circle it from top to bottom? This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
Lesson Express
Q: Why does the scientist call Uranus “boring”? Why is it so boring?
A: She calls Uranus boring because it is featureless, without clouds or other storms or weather. The photos of Uranus do not show much movement on the planet. It is featureless because of how cold it is.
Q: What is a shepherd moon?
A: A shepherd moon is a small satellite that moves around a planet and clears a gap in a ring or keeps the material in the ring contained.
Q: What does the orientation of Uranus’s rings tell us about its past?
A: Scientists think that something knocked Uranus out of its original orbit and onto its side.
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