This image, taken by Hubble, clearly shows Uranus and its rings. Click on image for full size (49K JPG) Courtesy of NASA

Uranus was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel. He argued with his friends over its name. They wanted to name it after him, be he wanted it named after the king of Great Britain. They chose to name it Uranus, after an ancient Greek god. All the planets in our solar system are named after gods.

Voyager II flew by Uranus in 1986. It took many pictures of the planet and found many small moons. We now know that Uranus sits on its side. The north and south poles stick out from the sides instead of the top and bottom!

Scientists also found very dim rings around Uranus. Voyager II took pictures of the rings when it flew by.