Uranus
is known as the “sideways planet” because it rotates on
its side.
Uranus was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel.
Uranus was the first planet found using a telescope.
Uranus is an Ice Giant planet and nearly four times larger
than Earth.
Uranus has 27 known moons, most of which are named after
literary characters.
Like Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune, Uranus is a ringed planet.
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.
10
Things to know
1 Huge
2 Seventh wanderer
3 Shortish day, Longish year
4 Ice giant
5 Gassy
6 Many moons : 27 known moons
7 The other ringed world : 13 known rings
8 A bit lonely
9 Lifeless
10 One cool fact
Like Venus, Uranus rotates east to west. But Uranus is unique
in that it rotates on its side.
Source
Visit the source to get detailed information and interesting
images
Uranus'
unique sideways rotation makes for weird seasons. The planet's
north pole experiences 21 years of nighttime in winter,
21 years of daytime in summer and 42 years of day and night
in the spring and fall.
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