Question

The planet uranus is tilted nearly on its side so that its axis or rotation is only 8 degress abway from its orbit plane. if you lived at latitude 45 degrees on uranus for what fraction of the uranian year would answer?

Answer 1

The rotation of Uranus, like that of Venus, is retrograde and its axis of rotation is inclined almost ninety degrees above the plane of its orbit. During its orbital period of 84 years one of the poles is permanently illuminated by the Sun while the other remains in the shade. Exactly its rotation period is equivalent to 17 hours and 14 Earth minutes and its translation period is equivalent to 84 years, 7 days and 9 Earth hours.

Only a narrow band around the equator experiences a rapid cycle of day and night, but with the Sun very low on the horizon as in the polar regions of the Earth. On the other side of the orbit of Uranus, the orientation of the poles in the direction of the Sun is inverse. Each pole receives about 42 years of uninterrupted sunlight, followed by 42 years of darkness. Therefore an observer at latitude of 45 degrees in Uranus will probably experience a long winter night that is equivalent to one third of the year uranium.