With its blue-green colors, delicate ring and peacefully closed eyes, Uranus seems to float quietly through space in this Coloring Page. Yet this planet has a truly remarkable feature: it rotates almost completely on its side! Its axis of rotation is tilted by about 98 degrees, compared with only about 23 degrees for Earth. Uranus is therefore a world that really does spin differently from the other planets.

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and belongs to the family of ice giants, along with Neptune. Its atmosphere is made mainly of hydrogen and helium, but it also contains methane. This gas absorbs some of the red light from the Sun and helps give the planet its beautiful blue-green appearance. Uranus is also an extremely cold world, with temperatures in its atmosphere that can drop below -220°C (-364°F).

Its unusual tilt has spectacular effects on its seasons. Uranus takes about 84 Earth years to complete one journey around the Sun. During parts of this very long year, one of its poles can remain pointed toward the Sun for years at a time. And just like Saturn, Uranus has rings! However, they are much darker and more difficult to observe.

For this Printable Coloring Page, light blue, turquoise and pale blue-green are excellent choices for recreating the appearance of Uranus. You can give its ring a different shade to make it stand out clearly around the planet.

Moving outward from the Sun, Uranus is followed by Neptune, the planet of extreme winds. These two neighboring ice giants may have some similarities, but each has fascinating features of its own. Choose your colors and bring this extraordinary sideways-spinning planet to life!