Uranus

    The atmosphere of Uranus is about 83% hydrogen, 15% helium and 2% methane. Uranus is the ancient Greek god of the heavens. Uranus was discovered on March 13, 1781, by William Herschal. He named it Gorgium Sidus, named after King George III of England. Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and is the third largest planet in the solar system. Uranus is perpendicular to a normal planetary axis, making the axis go diagonal, so scientists are debating whether Uranus has a north pole or not. Uranus is a giant blue planet with very few surface features at all. In Greek mythology, Uranus was the son and mate of Gaia the father of Cronus (Saturn) and of the Cyclopes and Titans. Uranus had long ago been assumed to be a star. Not only did Herschel discover Uranus, but he also discovered Uranus' two largest moons, Oberon and Titania. Uranus has only been visited by one spacecraft. This was the extended Voyager 2 mission. The Voyager reached Uranus on January 24, 1986. Nearly everything we know about Uranus was learned at this time. Uranus is mostly composed of ice and rock. Uranus is blue because of the absorption of red light by methane in the upper atmosphere. Uranus has eleven rings, and were found after the discovery of Saturn's rings.