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Strange Facts About Uranus
It's likely the most popular planet in any school astronomy lesson, if only for the mispronunciation of its name, Uranus (you're an uss). This seventh planet from the Sun, and third largest in our solar system is one of science's modern discoveries...dating back to the 18th century when William Herschel turned his telescope on the heavens and tipped the world of astronomy on its side, almost on the same plane as the planet itself.
Uranus is an oddity when compared to the rest of its neighbors. The axis is tilted so that the planet actually lies in a position that points its pole at the Sun, although scientists have yet to confirm which pole. The only expedition to actually gather data from this hunk of rock and ice was a fly-by taken by Voyager 2 in 1986. While the information received confirmed the strange position of the pole facing the Sun, it also discovered that the planet was warmer at its equator, than the end pointed towards the heat source. But again, they had no explanation.
Other features that were examined and recorded on that exploration, were the existence of Uranus' rings, some up to ten meters in width, and its array of 27 moons, 21 which have names taken from the works of Shakespeare and Pope, and 6 which remain unlabeled.
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