Uranus & Neptune: Crash Course Astronomy #19

Today we’re rounding out our planetary tour with ice giants Uranus and Neptune. Both have small rocky cores, thick mantles of ammonia, water, and methane, and atmospheres that make them look greenish and blue. Uranus has a truly weird rotation and relatively dull weather, while Neptune has clouds and storms whipped by tremendous winds. Both have rings and moons, with Neptune’s Triton probably being a captured iceball that has active geology. This episode was brought to you by Squarespace http://www.squarespace.com/crashcourse -- Crash Course is on Patreon! You can support us directly by signing up at http://www.patreon.com/crashcourse -- Table of Contents Ice Giants With Small Rocky Cores 2:18 Thick Mantles of Ammonia, Water, and Methane 1:53 Atmospheres Makes Them Look Green And Blue 2:53 Uranus Has Dull Weather 3:35 Neptune Has Active Weather 7:19 Both Have Rings And Moons 5:12 -- PBS Digital Studios: http://youtube.com/pbsdigitalstudios Follow Phil on Twitter: https://twitter.com/badastronomer Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/TheCrashCourse Tumblr - http://thecrashcourse.tumblr.com Support CrashCourse on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/crashcourse -- PHOTOS/VIDEOS Uranus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_2#/media/File:Uranus2.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL/Voyager mission] Neptune https://www.nasa.gov/content/25-years-ago-voyager-2-captures-images-of-neptune/ [credit: NASA] King George III http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_III_of_the_United_Kingdom#/media/File:Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg Uranus from Earth picture by Phil Plait Uranus, Earth size comparison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Uranus,_Earth_size_comparison.jpg [credit: NASA] Uranus core, reconstructed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Uranus-intern-en.png [credit: Wikimedia Commons] Uranus http://www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/images/screen/opo0647b.jpg [credit: NASA, ESA, L. Sromovsky and P. Fry (University of Wisconsin), H. Hammel (Space Science Institute), and K. Rages (SETI Institute)] Uranus storms http://www.keckobservatory.org/images/made/images/blog/Uranus_Aug20142_800_407.jpg [credit: Imke de Pater (UC–Berkeley)/Keck Observatory] Uranus and rings (tilt demonstration) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus#/media/File:Uranusandrings.jpg [credit: Hubble Space Telescope - NASA Marshall Space Flight Center] Uranus with rings and moons http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0237a/ [credit: ESO] Miranda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Uranus#/media/File:Miranda.jpg [credit: NASA] Verona Rupes http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110404.html [credit: NASA] Neptune’s Interior https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=283 [credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute] Neptune clouds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Neptune_clouds.jpg [credit: NASA] Neptune’s Great Dark Spot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune#/media/File:Neptune's_Great_Dark_Spot.jpg [credit: NASA / Jet Propulsion Lab] Neptune’s Rings http://www.rolfolsenastrophotography.com/Astrophotography/Solar-System/i-vjMHSxz/A [credit: Rolf Wahl Olsen / NASA/JPL (Voyager 2, NASA Planetary Data System)] Triton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(moon)#/media/File:Triton_moon_mosaic_Voyager_2_(large).jpg [credit: NASA / Jet Propulsion Lab / U.S. Geological Survey] Triton flipped http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PIA01538_Triton_flipped_v.jpg [credit: NASA/JPL] Triton Nitrogen Geysers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triton_(moon)#/media/File:Voyager_2_Triton_14bg_r90ccw_colorized.jpg[credit: NASA]