Last Reviewed and Updated on August 13, 2022
Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, is one of the most unique planets in our solar system. It is the only planet that rotates on its side in our Solar System, and while less known for it than Saturn, it has its own system of rings. Let’s take a closer look at this planet and the debris that surrounds it and try to answer the question: how many rings does Uranus have?
Some basics about Uranus
Uranus is one of the solar system’s outer planets. It is the seventh planet from the Sun and was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel. Herschel also reported observing the rings of Uranus, but as the rings are very faint, modern astronomers do not believe he was actually able to see them.
Read: when were the planets discovered?
It is the only planet in our Solar System that isn’t named after an Ancient Roman god.
Uranus is classified as a gas giant, or to be more precise, as an ice giant. It is made mostly of hydrogen and helium. It has a very faint atmosphere that contains methane, which gives the planet its blue-green color.
This planet has 27 known moons, the largest of which is Titania. It is also one of the planets that has a system of rings.
Also read: facts about Uranus
How Many Rings Does Uranus Have?
The first rings of the planet Uranus were officially discovered in 1977. Uranus has 13 known distinct rings, with the last two outer rings discovered in 2003-2005 by the Hubble Space Telescope.
These rings are believed to be mainly composed of frozen water.
Besides these 13 rings, there may be numerous more rings that are thin and faint – making them hard to observe. Some of these thin rings could also be just temporary rings.
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