Uranus, the first planet to be discovered in modern times. Sir William Herschel, an amateur astronomer observed the planet on March 13^th 1781 from a terraced house in Bath. He proposed that it be dedicated to the King and called ‘Georgium Sidus - ‘George’s Star’ -but tradition prevailed and Uranus, the father of the Roman god Saturn, was chosen. Unlike most planets, including Earth, whose poles are parallel to the Sun, Uranus has its south pole pointing almost directly at the Sun. Until Voyager 2 visited the planet in January 1986 only 5 moons were known to exist; now 15 have been named, 13 of them after Shakespearean characters. Two more moons remain as yet unnamed.

For information about the real Uranus go to Bill Arnott’s nine planet site: http://nineplanets.org/uranus.html