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.

Did You Know?

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.

Image of Mercury
  • Average distance from Sun

    2,870,658,186km

  • Lenght of year

    84 Earth years

  • Planet type

    Ice Giant

  • Moons

    27

  • Namesake

    Greek god of the sky