AnotheR PlaneT

On this date: March 13...

In 1781,Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun and the third largest in the solar system. was discovered by William Herschel.


"Uranus is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens, the earliest supreme god. Uranus was the son and mate of Gaia the father of Cronus (Saturn) and of the Cyclopes and Titans (predecessors of the Olympian gods).

Uranus, the first planet discovered in modern times, was discovered by William Herschel while systematically searching the sky with his telescope on March 13, 1781. It had actually been seen many times before but ignored as simply another star.

Uranus has been visited by only one spacecraft, Voyager 2 on Jan 24 1986. Its atmosphere is about 83% hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane. Like the other gas planets, Uranus has rings. Like Jupiter's, they are very dark but like Saturn's they are composed of fairly large particles ranging up to 10 meters in diameter in addition to fine dust. There are 11 known rings, all very faint.."

Uranus is sometimes just barely visible with the unaided eye on a very clear night; it is fairly easy to spot with binoculars (if you know exactly where to look).

Happy Sky watching!