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Uranus

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Seventh planet from the Sun, discovered by German-born British astronomer William Herschel in 1781. It is twice as far out as the sixth planet, Saturn. Uranus has a mass 14.5 times that of Earth. The spin axis of Uranus is tilted at 98°, so that one pole points towards the Sun, giving extreme seasons. Mean distance from the Sun 2.9 billion km/1.8 billion mi Equatorial diameter 50,800 km/31,600 mi Rotation period 17 hours 12 minutes Year 84 Earth years Atmosphere deep atmosphere composed mainly of hydrogen and helium Surface composed primarily of rock and various ices with only about 15% hydrogen and helium, but may also contain heavier elements, which might account for Uranus's mean density being higher than that of Saturn Satellites 27 moons were known by the end of 2011 Rings By early 2012, 13 rings were known to circle Uranus. Eleven were detected by the US space probe Voyager 2 in 1977, although they were not identified until 1978 and 1986. Two more were found by the Hubble Space…
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Full text Article Uranus

From Astronomy Encyclopedia
Uranus Cloud features on Uranus are fairly...
Seventh planet in the Solar System, the first to be discovered telescopically. In 1781 William HERSCHEL , observing from Bath, was examining the small stars in the neighbourhood of H Geminorum when he found a star ‘visibly larger than the rest’, which he suspected to be a comet. As no one had…
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Full text Article Uranus

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Seventh planet from the Sun, discovered (1781) by Sir William Herschel . Uranus is visible to the naked eye under good conditions. Through a telescope it appears as a small, featureless, greenish-blue disc. Like all the giant planets, it possesses a ring system and a retinue of satellites. Like…
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Full text Article Uranus

From Encyclopedia of the History of Astronomy and Astrophysics Full text Article The solar system Full text Article Giant planets
Voyager 2's image of Uranus’...
Uranus was discovered in March 1781 by William Herschel as a fuzzy object that he mistook for a comet. Nevil Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal, subsequently observed the object, and concluded that it could be either a comet or a planet. He was doubtful that it could be a comet, however, as it was…
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Full text Article Uranus

From Science Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia of Space and Astronomy
This image, taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft,...
Unknown to ancient astronomers, the planet Uranus was discovered by Sir William Herschel on March 13, 1781. Initially called Georgium Sidus (George's star, after England's King George III) and Herschel (after its discoverer), in the 19th century the seventh planet from the Sun was finally named…
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Full text Article Uranus

From The Visual Guides: Understanding The Universe Full text Article THE PLANETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Description Time Total Time Uranus, the seventh planet in the solar system, was not known to the astronomers of Antiquity. It was not discovered until 1781. 00:01 – 00:12 00:01:13 Uranus, a bluish-colored planet, is composed mainly of rock, ice, and hydrogen. 00:12 – 00:19 Like the other gas giants…
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Full text Article Uranus

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
The seventh planet of the Solar System and the first to be discovered telescopically – by William Herschel in 1781. The third largest of the giant planets , it has an equatorial diameter of about 51 119 km, a mass 14.5 times that of the Earth, and a density 1.3 times that of water. Uranus orbits the…
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Full text Article Uranus

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Seventh planet from the Sun. It was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel ( see Herschel family ) and named for the Greek god personifying heaven. A blue-green gas giant, it has almost 15 times the mass of Earth and over 50 times its volume. It is less dense than Earth; the gravity at the top of…
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Full text Article Uranus

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Seventh planet from the Sun, discovered by German-born British astronomer William Herschel in 1781. It is twice as far out as the sixth planet, Saturn. Uranus has a mass 14.5 times that of Earth. The spin axis of Uranus is tilted at 98°, so that one pole points towards the Sun, giving extreme…
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Full text Article URANUS

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
It has generally been supposed that it was a lucky accident that brought this star [Uranus] to his view; but this is an evident mistake. In the regular manner in which he examined every star in the heavens, not only of that magnitude, but many far inferior, it was that night its turn to be…
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Full text Article Uranus' satellites

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
Prior to Voyager 2's flyby in 1986, five moderate-sized satellites were known to exist. The two largest, Titania and Oberon , are nearly the same size with diameters about 1550 km. Ariel and Umbriel are also nearly the same size with diameters about 1160 km, whereas Miranda is only 472 km across. …
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