What are Some Prominent Features of Uranus?
Uranus is a large bluish planet orbiting about 19 AUs (Earth-Sun distances) from the Sun. With a diameter equivalent to four Earths, and a mass slightly over 14.5 Earths, Uranus is the third-largest planet in the solar system, after Jupiter and Saturn. Although it is primarily composed of hydrogen gas, Uranus and its sister planet Neptune are often referred to as “ice giants” rather than “gas giants” because of their different composition from the latter. The aquamarine color of Uranus comes from small amounts of methane ice suspended in its primarily hydrogen atmosphere. Although Uranus can be seen with the naked eye, and has been observed since prehistoric times, people always mistake it for a star. For this reason Uranus was not discovered to be a planet until Sir William Herschel observed it on 13 March 1781. Unfortunately, he initially thought it was a comet. When he sent his observations to other astronomers so they could take a look at it, many suspected it was actually a planet