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How did the planet Uranus get its name?

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Uranus is named after the ancient Greek god of the sky, who was the father of Kronos (Saturn in Roman mythology). Most of the other planets got their names thousands of years ago, but Uranus was discovered just a few hundred years ago – William Herschel found it on March 13, 1781. read more

While Uranus remains the widely-recognized name for the Solar System’s seventh planet (and third gas giant), other cultures have recognized it by various other names. For example in traditional Chinese astronomy, it is known as Tianwángxing, which means literally “Sky King Star”. read more

The Romans named the five planets closest to the Sun after their most important gods. These were the only planets that were bright enough for them to see. read more

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