ABSTRACT
Uranus, the seventh planet in order of distance from the Sun, was the first to be discovered in telescopic times, by William Herschel, in 1781. It is a giant world, but it and the outermost giant, Neptune, are very different from Jupiter and Saturn, both in size and in constitution. Uranus was seen on a number of occasions before its identification in 1781. It was recorded on 23 December 1690 by the Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, when it was in Taurus. There was prolonged discussion over naming. J. E. Bode, in 1781, suggested Uranus, after the first ruler of Olympus. Uranus is unique in one respect; its axial inclination is more than a right angle, so that the rotation is technically retrograde, although not usually classed as such. In ordinary telescopes Uranus appears as a bland, rather greenish disk. One important fact is that Uranus, unlike the other giant planets, seems to have little internal heat.
