Most of my elementary schooling was spent at St. Joseph’s Catholic School under the direction of Sister Mary Irene. In sixth grade, we were assigned to write a theme about something that interested us. The theme was to be written in the form of an informational/educational letter directed to Sister Mary Irene. Prior to handing them in for grading we were to read them aloud to the class.
I elected to write my theme about my favorite planet. When I read it to the class they seemed to enjoy it immensely. However, I never received a grade on the theme because my parents abruptly pulled me out of St. Joseph’s shortly thereafter and enrolled me in public school. I’m still not sure why.
Anyway, here was my theme . . .
Dear Sister Mary Irene,
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Uranus (yer-AY-nus). Uranus doesn’t get a lot of love and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because Uranus is so distant and remote that people just forget about it. But not me, I’m into Uranus in a big way. I know a lot about Uranus and I want to learn more!
Most people don’t realize how big Uranus is. It’s huge! There are also rings around Uranus. No one knows for sure what the rings are made of, but they are thought to consist of debris that has been attracted to Uranus over many, many years and just stuck. Uranus rotates on its axis every 17 hours and 14 minutes, and that’s pretty fast. I’m getting dizzy just thinking about Uranus!
Uranus appears to be sort of a greenish blue, but that’s probably not what it looks like on the surface. The apparent color of Uranus appears to be due to the noxious gases that surround it, especially methane which is a silent and deadly killer. The toxic atmosphere around Uranus would probably kill most people very quickly, so a visitor would have to bring a source of oxygen if they wanted to spend time on Uranus, or maybe just hold their breath.
Although the surface of Uranus is extremely cold, some have suggested that the cold surface may mask a hot core that is capable of unpredictable and violent eruptions. There are also explosive and very toxic winds on Uranus that can reach speeds of 900 km per hour. A visitor to Uranus would have to keep his wits about him and be willing to seek shelter quickly to avoid a very unpleasant surprise!
Some scientists believe it may actually rain diamonds deep inside Uranus. If so, there is a possibility that we may someday mine Uranus for the riches it contains. Wouldn’t that be an interesting job? I’m imagining their slogan now: “Uranus: We dig it!” Haha!
In summary, I am a huge fan of Uranus. If I ever get a chance to visit Uranus and spend some time there, count me in!