Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet (counted from the Sun) in the Solar System. It's a gas giant *snicker*[1] like Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. It is one of the two major planets discovered in modern times, as all of the rest are bright enough to have been known since ancient times.[2] (The other is Neptune. And Pluto is not a planet.)
Uranus is named after a Greek god,[3] rather than a Roman god (unlike the other planets), who had his testicles cut off. Tough breaks. The planet is about 19 times larger than Earth, and 20 times more fun to say. The name has been the target of an immature joke ever since it was discovered and named in the 1780s. According to some stuffy twerps, the planet's name is not pronounced the way the joke requires. It is actually pronounced more along the lines of "yoo-ruh-nuss" or "yur-uh-nuss," not "yer anus." Unfortunately that runs into urinous, and Webster's doesn't agree, both pronunciations are correct.[4] Can't win.[5]
For the more authoritative comment, see There's a new dark spot on Uranus, with a much clearer image of Uranus than the 1986 Voyager 2 image to the right.
Uranus has an axial tilt of almost 90 degrees making its axis almost parallel to the plane of the ecliptic. It also has rings, 27 moons,[6] and a magnetic field that is not centered and is tilted at an angle to the axis of rotation.
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[edit] Discovery
Uranus was actually discovered several decades before it was discovered. In 1690, John Flamsteed was cataloging all the faint naked-eye stars, and called Uranus "34 Tauri." It wasn't until 1781 that William Herschel realized this "star" was in fact moving. He initally wanted to name it after King George III -- the same guy America had declared independence from some years earlier -- but let's face it, "Planet George" is a stupid name.
Later observations of Uranus's motion indicated that an eighth unseen planet was tugging on it. This planet was eventually discovered, in precisely the position predicted by these calculations, and was named Neptune.
[edit] Probing Uranus
In January 1986, the Voyager 2 space probe flew past Uranus.
[edit] External links
- Has the Mystery of Uranus' Tilt Been Solved?, Discovery News
- Uranus Might Be Full of Surprises, Washington Post
- How it's done.
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Only its outer layers are gaseous. Most of the planet is an icy mantle made of solidified water, ammonia, and methane -- it would be more appropriate to call Uranus an "ice giant."
- ↑ Uranus is just barely bright enough to be visible to the naked eye.
- ↑ Technically, Uranus pre-dated the gods. Uranus and Gaea gave birth to the Titans, and Chronos (the ruler of the Titans) gave birth to the gods.
- ↑ Merriam-Webster's definition of Uranus
- ↑ Urectum, maybe?
- ↑ NASA Solar System Exploration: Uranus' Moons