Exploration of Uranus cloud tops. This was the probe's first solo planetary flyby, since "Voyager 1" ended its tour of the outer planets at Saturn's moon Titan. Uranus is the third-largest planet in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun at a distance of about and completes one orbit every 84 years. The length of a day on Uranus as measured by "Voyager 2" is 17 hours and 14 minutes. Uranus is distinguished by the fact that it is tipped on its side. Its unusual position is thought to be the result of a collision with a planet-sized body early in the Solar
Climate of Uranus southern polar cloud had been observed at the wavelength 2.2 micrometres, which is sensitive to the methane absorption, whereas northern clouds have been regularly observed in this wavelength band. The lifetime of clouds spans several orders of magnitude. Some small clouds live for hours, whereas at least one southern cloud has persisted since the Voyager flyby. Recent observation also discovered that cloud-features on Uranus have a lot in common with those on Neptune, although the weather on Uranus is much calmer. The dark spots common on Neptune had never been observed on Uranus before 2006, when the first such feature