What makes the planet Uranus interesting?

The name Uranus was suggested by astronomer Johann Bode. The name comes from the ancient Greek deity Ouranos. Uranus turns on its axis once every 17 hours, 14 minutes. The planet rotates in a retrograde direction, opposite to the way Earth and most other planets turn. read more

The planet rotates in a retrograde direction, opposite to the way Earth and most other planets turn. Uranus makes one trip around the Sun every 84 Earth years. During some parts of its orbit one or the other of its poles point directly at the Sun and get about 42 years of direct sunlight. read more

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Uranus is how odd its rotation is compared to all of the other planets’. The axis of rotation for every planet other than Uranus is roughly perpendicular with their orbital plane. However, Uranus’ axis is tilted almost 98°, which effectively means that Uranus rotates on its side. read more