Uranus was the first planet to be discovered in modern times. Uranus is the 7^th planet from the sun and the 3^rd largest by diameter. It is 2,870,990,000km or 19.2 astronomical units from the sun and its diameter is 51,118km around the equator. An astronomical unit is the distance the Earth is away from the Sun. Neptune has a larger mass but is still smaller. Uranus was named after a Greek god. There is no Roman version. Uranus was the god of the Heavens and the father of Cronus. (Saturn)

Uranus has a unique position; it is completely on its side! And scientists are still debating which pole is which: North or South? Uranus’s atmosphere is made up of 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, and 2% methane.

Uranus has a blue-green color. Why you ask? Because red light is absorbed by the methane in the upper atmosphere and there isn’t anymore light to reflect except that blue-green color. Uranus may have stormy bands like Jupiter and Saturn but they are extremely faint or invisible without infrared technology.

Uranus has rings just like the other gas planets. Like Jupiter they are very dark, but like Saturn they are composed of larger material and ice. Unlike Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is more-likely not to have a solid-rocky core although it is almost impossible to be sure.

Also unlike Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is just barely visible with the naked eye. It is very easy to see with binoculars but may be a challenge to find. You can see it clearly with a telescope. Uranus has 27 moons and six of them are not named. Uranus’s moons are named after the writings of Shakespeare and Pope instead of ancient Roman and Greek mythology.