A Planet Question?

Question

A few things.. concerning the planet, Uranus.. I asked a retarded question earlier about Uranus having craters...and someone said, "Nope. Uranus is a gaseous planet. As you go deep into it the density/presure increases so at the end you find yourself in quite a solid environment, but there is no defined separation layer as we have here at earth between solid land and atmosphere."

So, if this is so, how is this big ball of gas labeled a planet? And even if the deeper we travelled into Uranus,, how could it seem we were in a solid environment? Hypothetically, could we or could we not set foot or be able to walk around?

Or would we just go through it???

Or evaporate on our way through it?

--Rob :)~

Answer 1

We could never "land" anything on Uranus. Anything entering its atmosphere would keep falling for weeks before either burning up or being absorbed by a sea of liquified gases. Uranus has an extreme axel tilt that is greater than 90°. It is largely speculated that a plantary body the size of earth struck it long ago and knocked it on its side (the earth-sized body swallowed up by Uranus which has four times the diameter of Earth). When Voyager 2 flew by Uranus, instruments found that the magnetic core was not buried in its center but is in fact offset towards one hemisphere, which further supported the ancient collision theory.

Uranus, as well as the other gas giants Neptune, Saturn, and Jupiter have far too little mass (even combined) to become a star. So orbiting our star the sun, their status as mere planets is clear.

Regarding craters, Uranus' moons have them in abundance, as do most solid bodies in our solar system.

Answer 2

It is labeled as a planet because planets are defined as satalites of stars, having a certain mass or greater, but not conducting nuclear fusion. In other words if it's big enough, but not another star, and orbits a star it is a planet.

Rather than having definate layers like the Earth (due to our thick crust, mixed materials, and the unusual properties of water) Uranus has a more gradual layering. It's composition is more uniform so as we dive deeper into the gas the pressure increases and the molecules begin to squeeze closer together. This is kind of like when people dive deep into the oceans and the water pressure becomes very great. Eventually the molecules will draw so closely together and their movement so slow that it will become more liquid or solid. When you touch something solid, it's atoms are closer together and less mobile which is part of the reason why you can't move through it. On Uranus it is likely that there are layers of slush and a solid ice core, it is not large enough to create metallic hydrogen as some people have suggested. Only Saturn and Jupiter are massive enough to crush hydrogen atoms so closely together that their electrons move freely throughout them.

If you were to visit Uranus and plunge towards it's center, the pressure would be too great for your human body to withstand before you got to a semi-solid area. I imagine it would feel something like swimming into crushing water... not that you would be able to do any strokes at that point.

Answer 3

"...how is this big ball of gas labeled a planet?..."
Solidity is not a requirement for labelling a solar system body as a planet. Uranus is a major object in the solar system that orbits the sun, and that's sufficient to call it a planet.

"...if the deeper we travelled into Uranus,, how could it seem we were in a solid environment..."
Discounting the possibility that Uranus might have a small but truly solid core, everything else is gas. Any gas when compressed heats up and gains higher density (pressure). The deeper you get into Uranus gas atmosphere the greater becomes the density (pressure). We would be crushed in these extreme densities (pressures).

Answer 4

Well, unfortunately, my answer can only be speculatory at best. But I'm thinking that the core of this planets might be made of a material like dry ice. And if I'm correct, isn't dry ice solidified hydrogen? If so then that'd actually make lots of sense, because, if memory serves correct, hydrogen is the most abundant substance found in the universe. That'd also explain the dense gaseous atmosphere because we all know dry ice gives off "mist". And I'd assume that a ball of dry ice the size of...say the earth, would have enough gravitational pull keep the "mist" condensed around itself.

That's the best explanation I can come up with.

Answer 5

i'm no longer saying that i be counted on Planet X or Nibiru yet one question to judge is how did a civilization 4000 plus years in the past replaced into in a position to chart our image voltaic device? in the adventure that they were no longer visited with the help of E.T.s then they ought to have had stepped ahead technologies to work out out of our planets environment and actually deep in to our image voltaic device. if that's the case then why did it take each of ways in to the mid 1900's to re-hit upon the those planets? Did the human race change right into a lot less intellegent throught the years? Mentally de-evolve? And contained in the sumer "translated" and pictured tableture it shows how at the same time as bodily searching at a chart of our planets the dimensions changes on a small scale evaluation to at least one yet another and its fairly precise... and it shows a planet X..... so its confusing to rule the planet x theory out. besides the undeniable fact that it doesnt say something about certain doomsday. that's frustrating to rule out a planet x fantastically because this previous month 32 planets were dicovered.... exoplanets and "large earths" so if those exsist then why won't be able to planet x or nibiru? no longer saying they're an similar... in straightforward words those that are too scared to confess the possibltiy of a planet X or E.T. exisitance with the aid of feeling not practically as good as a more effective stepped ahead race could void any of those questions out. And if a civilization 4000 years in the past may be more effective stepped ahead than what we were contained in the early 1900's in area exploration then why couldnt there be a planet x and about that's orbit? nicely i'm confident that someplace accessible there could be an intellegence able to controlling an surroundings... or hell it can merely be a lack of existence huge call off huge call wars ( scary.... hqhahahah) both way no longer something isn't a probability... no count number the way you examine out existence and its creation, all of it seems no longer a probability yet its no longer for we are all the following acceptable?

Answer 6

Uranus is composed primarily of rock and various ices, with only about 15% hydrogen and a little helium (in contrast to Jupiter and Saturn which are mostly hydrogen). Uranus (and Neptune) are in many ways similar to the cores of Jupiter and Saturn minus the massive liquid metallic hydrogen envelope. It appears that Uranus does not have a rocky core like Jupiter and Saturn but rather that its material is more or less uniformly distributed.

Answer 7

Your question applies equally to the other gas giant planets as well (Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune). Basically it is gas that becomes progressively denser as you go down, until it turns into a liquid, and then it gest denser until it is some sort of slush. As the pressure increases, so does the temperature, so if a space probe does not get squished first, it would sink until it melts.
Eventually, in the deep core, thepressure gets so high that hydrogen turns into a metal; so there is some solidity after all.

But threre is no real solid surface to speak of, at least the way we commonly refer to a surface.

Answer 8

Uranus is a gaseous planet, and you can't walk on it. The core is either a solid or a liquid. It might be lead, lava, rock, something that makes sense, but you can't walk on it. It's too hot.

And anything that has a solid or almost solid core, rotates, and travels around a sun is called a planet.

Answer 9

The core of uranus is solid maybe even diamond and larger than the earth which is a solid object surrounded by gas Ie oxygen. uranus just has more gas

Answer 10

the word planet means "wanderer" early astronomers noticed that certain stars moved while others didnt, the ones that moved were called planets. uranus can be labelled a planet eventhough it is a gas giant. we would not be able to go thro it becos the centre is made of ice.