URANUS
Uranus Facts:
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun.
The planet is a gas giant, the third largest by diameter and fourth largest by mass in the solar system.
Uranus the planet is named after the diety Uranus, the Greek god of the sky.
William Herschel discovered Uranus on March 13, 1781. Uranus was the first planet discovered in the modern era.
NASA's Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus.
Voyager 2 was launched in 1977, and made its closest approach to Uranus on January 24, 1986. (The spacecraft then continued on to Neptune.)
Uranus has an axial tilt of ninety-eight degrees. The axial tilt makes one pole of the planet face the Sun continually for part of the planet’s orbit while the other pole faces away. Then on the other side of Uranus' orbit the situation is reversed; and the other pole is oriented constantly towards the Sun.
Uranus has 27 known moons. The five main moons are Ariel, Titania, Umbriel, Miranda, and Oberon.
