Uranus

Uranus, third-largest planet in the Solar System and the seventh from the sun. Physically very similar to Neptune, but rather larger, Uranus orbits the sun every 84.02 years at a mean distance of 1.78 billion mi (2,87 billion km), rotating on its axis once every 10.75 hours. Since the plane of its equator is tilted 98° to the plane of its orbit, the rotation of the planet and the revolution of its five known moons (Titania, Oberon, Ariel, Umbriel, and Mirando), which orbit closely parallel to the equator, are retrograde. In 1977 the planet was found to have five rings, like those of Saturn but much fainter. In 1998 American and Canadian scientists discovered that Uranus has two more moons.

See also: Planet; Solar System.