Uranus

Intro

       The first planet found with the aid of a telescope, Uranus was discovered in 1781 by astronomer William Herschel, although he originally thought it was either a comet or a star. It was two years later that the object was universally accepted as a new planet, in part because of observations by astronomer Johann Elert Bode. Herschel tried unsuccessfully to name his discovery Georgium Sidus after King George III. Instead the scientific community accepted Bode's suggestion to name it Uranus, the Greek god of the sky, as suggested by Bode.

Fun Facts

1. A bit lonely: Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to fly by Uranus. No spacecraft has orbited this distant planet to study it at length and up close.
2. Ice Giant: Uranus is an ice giant. Most of its mass is a hot, dense fluid of "icy" materials – water, methane and ammonia – above a small rocky core.
3. Rotato-Potato: Similar to Earth’s friendly neighbor Venus, Uranus rotates east to west. But Uranus is unique in that it rotates on its side!

Want to Learn more? Click Here


Next
Back