Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/December 7, 2007

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[edit] changes

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To summarize changes:

  1. The first sentence was very awkward and has been reworded.
  2. Solar system should only be wikilinked once.
  3. "It is the oldest planetary atmosphere" -> "It has the oldest...".
  4. Voyager 2 -> Voyager 2 space probe
  5. Added mph conversion for our backward American readers. :-)

Cheers, ➪HiDrNick! 08:01, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun; it is the third largest and fourth most massive planet in the solar system. Uranus was the first planet discovered in modern times. Though it is visible to the naked eye like the five classical planets, it was never recognised as a planet by ancient observers due to its dimness. Sir William Herschel announced its discovery on March 13, 1781, expanding the known boundaries of the solar system. Uranus' atmosphere, while still composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, contains a higher proportion of "ices" such as water, ammonia and methane, along with the usual traces of hydrocarbons. It has the coldest planetary atmosphere in the Solar System, with a minimum temperature of 49 K, and has a complex layered cloud structure in which water is thought to make up the lowest clouds, while methane makes up the uppermost layer of clouds. In 1986, images from the Voyager 2 space probe showed Uranus as a virtually featureless planet in visible light without the cloud bands or storms associated with the other giants. The wind speeds on Uranus can reach 250 m/s (560 mph). (more...)

I've changed the solar system bit. I'm unsure about the rest of it. --- RockMFR 22:37, 7 December 2007 (UTC)
I made the rest of the changes that seemed uncontroversial. The capitalization and the issue with Jupiter and Saturn seemed to need more work, so I left them alone. — Carl (CBM · talk) 22:57, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "higher proportion".

Uranus' atmosphere, while still composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, contains a higher proportion of "ices" such as water, ammonia and methane, along with the usual traces of hydrocarbons.

It needs to say what it's higher than: Jupiter and Saturn, but similar to Neptune. -- Jeandré, 2007-12-07t08:29z

I've added the comparison to Jupiter and Saturn, but I think the whole thing is worded terribly. --- RockMFR 22:37, 7 December 2007 (UTC)