Seasons on Uranus

Uranus  has a relatively circular orbit, so it remains at about the same distance from the Sun throughout its long year. But the axis of Uranus is tilted by 98 degrees! This causes 21-year-long seasons and unusual weather, although one thing that is certain: it is always cold. For nearly a quarter of the Uranian year (equal to 84 Earth years), the sun shines directly over each pole, leaving the other half of the planet plunged into a long, dark winter. Uranus has a deep atmosphere of mostly hydrogen and helium. Absorption of red light by methane in the atmosphere gives the planet its bluish color. Early visual observers reported Jupiter-like cloud belts on the planet, but when the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by in 1986, Uranus appeared virtually featureless. The Northern Hemisphere of Uranus is just now coming out of the grip of its decades-long winter. As the sunlight reaches some latitudes for the first time in years, it warms the atmosphere and triggers gigantic springtime storms comparable in size to North America with temperatures of 300? F below zero. By the year 2007, the sun will be shining directly over Uranus' equator, which will produce more evenly distributed sunlight and the ability to see features at all latitudes on Uranus.