Editing Uranus (section)

== History ==
[[File:Discovery of Uranus1781.png|thumb|Position of Uranus (marked with a cross) on 13 March 1781, the date of its discovery]]
Like the [[classical planet]]s, Uranus is visible to the naked eye, but it was never recognised as a planet by ancient observers because of its dimness and slow orbit.<ref>{{cite web | title=MIRA's Field Trips to the Stars Internet Education Program | work=Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy | url=https://www.mira.org/fts0/planets/101/text/txt001x.htm | access-date=5 May 2021 | archive-date=1 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501025331/http://www.mira.org/fts0/planets/101/text/txt001x.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> [[William Herschel]] first observed Uranus on 13 March 1781, leading to its discovery as a planet, expanding the known boundaries of the [[Solar System]] for the first time in history and making Uranus the first planet classified as such with the aid of a [[telescope]]. The discovery of Uranus also effectively doubled the size of the known Solar System because Uranus is around twice as far from the Sun as the planet [[Saturn]].

=== {{anchor|34 Tauri}}<!-- Used by an incoming redirect --> Discovery ===
[[File:William_Herschel01.jpg|thumb|upright|[[William Herschel]], discoverer of Uranus]]
Before its recognition as a planet, Uranus had been observed many times, but was generally misidentified as a star. The earliest possible known observation was by [[Hipparchus]], who in 128 BC might have recorded it as a star for his [[star catalogue]] that was later incorporated into [[Ptolemy]]'s ''[[Almagest]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bourtembourg |first=René |date=November 2013 |title=Was Uranus Observed by Hipparchus? |journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy |language=en |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=377–387 |bibcode=2013JHA....44..377B |doi=10.1177/002182861304400401 |issn=0021-8286 |s2cid=122482074}}</ref> The earliest definite sighting was in 1690, when [[John Flamsteed]] observed it at least six times, cataloguing it as 34 [[Taurus (constellation)|Tauri]]. The French astronomer [[Pierre Charles Le Monnier]] observed Uranus at least twelve times between 1750 and 1769,<ref>{{cite web | website=Astronomy Briefly | title=Uranus – About Saying, Finding, and Describing It | publisher=thespaceguy.com | url=http://www.thespaceguy.com/Uranus.htm | last=Dunkerson | first=Duane | access-date=5 May 2021 | archive-date=10 August 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810072629/http://www.thespaceguy.com/Uranus.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> including on four consecutive nights.

[[William Herschel]] observed Uranus on 13 March 1781 from the garden of his house at 19 New King Street in [[Bath, Somerset]], England (now the [[Herschel Museum of Astronomy]]),<ref>{{cite web |title=Bath Preservation Trust |url=http://www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk/ |access-date=29 September 2007 |archive-date=29 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929004747/http://www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and initially reported it (on 26 April 1781) as a [[comet]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Herschel |first1=W. |last2=Watson |first2=Dr. |date=1781 |title= Account of a Comet|journal= Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London|volume=71 |pages=492–501 |bibcode=1781RSPT...71..492H |doi=10.1098/rstl.1781.0056 |s2cid=186208953}}</ref> With a homemade 6.2-inch reflecting telescope, Herschel "engaged in a series of observations on the [[parallax]] of the fixed stars."<ref name="Ref-1">Journal of the Royal Society and Royal Astronomical Society 1, 30, quoted in [[#Miner|Miner]], p. 8.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Ice Giants: The Discovery of Nepture and Uranus |journal=Sky & Telescope |date=29 July 2020 |url=https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/ice-giants-neptune-and-uranus/ |access-date=21 November 2020 |publisher=American Astronomical Society |archive-date=22 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122123848/https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/ice-giants-neptune-and-uranus/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Herschel recorded in his journal: "In the quartile near [[Zeta Tauri|ζ Tauri]]&nbsp;... either [a] Nebulous star or perhaps a comet."<ref>Royal Astronomical Society MSS W.2/1.2, 23; quoted in [[#Miner|Miner]] p. 8.</ref> On 17 March he noted: "I looked for the Comet or Nebulous Star and found that it is a Comet, for it has changed its place."<ref>RAS MSS Herschel W.2/1.2, 24, quoted in [[#Miner|Miner]] p. 8.</ref> When he presented his discovery to the [[Royal Society]], he continued to assert that he had found a comet, but also implicitly compared it to a planet:<ref name="Ref-1"/>

{{blockquote|The power I had on when I first saw the comet was 227. From experience I know that the diameters of the fixed stars are not proportionally magnified with higher powers, as planets are; therefore I now put the powers at 460 and 932, and found that the diameter of the comet increased in proportion to the power, as it ought to be, on the supposition of its not being a fixed star, while the diameters of the stars to which I compared it were not increased in the same ratio. Moreover, the comet being magnified much beyond what its light would admit of, appeared hazy and ill-defined with these great powers, while the stars preserved that lustre and distinctness which from many thousand observations I knew they would retain. The sequel has shown that my surmises were well-founded, this proving to be the Comet we have lately observed.<ref name="Ref-1"/>}}

Herschel notified the Astronomer Royal [[Nevil Maskelyne]] of his discovery and received this flummoxed reply from him on 23 April 1781: "I don't know what to call it. It is as likely to be a regular planet moving in an orbit nearly circular to the sun as a Comet moving in a very eccentric ellipsis. I have not yet seen any coma or tail to it."<ref>RAS MSS Herschel W1/13.M, 14 quoted in [[#Miner|Miner]] p. 8.</ref>

Although Herschel continued to describe his new object as a comet, other astronomers had already begun to suspect otherwise. Finnish-Swedish astronomer [[Anders Johan Lexell]], working in Russia, was the first to compute the orbit of the new object.<ref name="lexell" /> Its nearly circular orbit suggested that it was a planet rather than a comet. Berlin astronomer [[Johann Elert Bode]] described Herschel's discovery as "a moving star that can be deemed a hitherto unknown planet-like object circulating beyond the orbit of Saturn".<ref>Johann Elert Bode, Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch, p. 210, 1781, quoted in [[#Miner|Miner]], p. 11.</ref> Bode concluded that its near-circular orbit was more like a planet's than a comet's.<ref>[[#Miner|Miner]], p. 11.</ref>

The object was soon accepted as a new planet. By 1783, Herschel acknowledged this to Royal Society president [[Joseph Banks]]: "By the observation of the most eminent Astronomers in Europe it appears that the new star, which I had the honour of pointing out to them in March 1781, is a Primary Planet of our Solar System."<ref name="Dreyer" /> In recognition of his achievement, [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III]] gave Herschel an annual [[stipend]] of £200 ({{Inflation|UK|200|1783|fmt=eq|r=-3|cursign=£}}){{Inflation/fn|UK}} on condition that he moved to [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]] so that the Royal Family could look through his telescopes.<ref name="Miner12" />

=== Name ===
The name Uranus references the ancient Greek deity of the sky [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] ({{langx|grc|[[wikt:οὐρανός#Ancient Greek|Οὐρανός]]}}), known as [[Caelus]] in Roman mythology, the father of [[Cronus]] ([[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]]), grandfather of [[Zeus]] ([[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]]) and the great-grandfather of [[Ares]] ([[Mars (mythology)|Mars]]), which was rendered as {{lang|la|Uranus}} in Latin ({{IPA|la|ˈuːranʊs|IPA}}).<ref name="OED" /> It is the only one of the eight planets whose English name derives from a figure of [[Greek mythology]]. The pronunciation of the name ''Uranus'' preferred among [[astronomers]] is {{IPAc-en|ˈ|jʊər|ə|n|ə|s}} {{respell|YOOR|ə|nəs}},<ref name="BBCOUP" /> with the [[Long u|long "u"]] of English and stress on the first syllable as in Latin {{lang|la|Uranus}}, in contrast to {{IPAc-en|j|ʊ|ˈ|r|eɪ|n|ə|s}} {{respell|yoo|RAY|nəs}}, with stress on the second syllable and a [[vowel length#Traditional long and short vowels in English orthography|long ''a'']], though both are considered acceptable.{{efn|Because, in the English-speaking world, the latter sounds like "your [[anus]]", the former pronunciation also saves embarrassment: as [[Pamela L. Gay|Pamela Gay]], an astronomer at [[Southern Illinois University Edwardsville]], noted on her podcast, to avoid "being made fun of by any small schoolchildren&nbsp;... when in doubt, don't emphasise anything and just say {{IPA|/ˈjʊərənəs/}}. And then run, quickly."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cain |first=Frasier |date=12 November 2007 |title=Uranus |url=http://www.astronomycast.com/astronomy/episode-62-uranus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426084001/http://www.astronomycast.com/astronomy/episode-62-uranus/ |archive-date=26 April 2009 |access-date=20 April 2009 |website=AstronomyCast}}</ref> }}

Consensus on the name was not reached until almost 70 years after the planet's discovery. During the original discussions following discovery, Maskelyne asked Herschel to "do the astronomical world the {{sic|faver}} to give a name to your planet, which is entirely your own, [and] which we are so much obliged to you for the discovery of".<ref>RAS MSS Herschel W.1/12.M, 20, quoted in [[#Miner|Miner]], p. 12</ref> In response to Maskelyne's request, Herschel decided to name the object {{lang|la|Georgium Sidus}} (George's Star), or the "Georgian Planet" in honour of his new patron, King George III.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://vesuvius.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/hersc.html |title=Voyager at Uranus |date=1986 |journal=NASA JPL |pages=400–268 |volume=7 |issue=85 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210222142/http://vesuvius.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/hersc.html |archive-date=10 February 2006}}</ref> He explained this decision in a letter to Joseph Banks:<ref name="Dreyer" />

{{blockquote|In the fabulous ages of ancient times the appellations of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were given to the Planets, as being the names of their principal heroes and divinities. In the present more philosophical era it would hardly be allowable to have recourse to the same method and call it Juno, Pallas, Apollo or Minerva, for a name to our new heavenly body. The first consideration of any particular event, or remarkable incident, seems to be its chronology: if in any future age it should be asked, when this last-found Planet was discovered? It would be a very satisfactory answer to say, 'In the reign of King George the Third'.}}

Herschel's proposed name was not popular outside Britain and Hanover, and alternatives were soon proposed. Astronomer [[Jérôme Lalande]] proposed that it be named ''Herschel'' in honour of its discoverer.<ref name="Francisca" /> Swedish astronomer [[Erik Prosperin]] proposed the names ''[[Astraea]],'' ''[[Cybele]]'' (now the names of asteroids), and ''[[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]]'', which later became the name of the [[Neptune|next planet to be discovered]]. [[Georg Christoph Lichtenberg|Georg Lichtenberg]] from [[Göttingen]] also supported ''Astraea'' (as ''Austräa''), but she is traditionally associated with [[Virgo (astrology)|Virgo]] instead of Taurus. ''Neptune'' was supported by other astronomers who liked the idea of commemorating the victories of the British [[Royal Navy|Royal Naval]] fleet in the course of the [[American Revolutionary War]] by calling the new planet either ''Neptune George III'' or ''Neptune Great Britain'', a compromise Lexell suggested as well.<ref name="lexell" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Gingerich |first=O. |date=1958 |title=The Naming of Uranus and Neptune, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Leaflets, Vol. 8, No. 352, p.9 |url=https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1958ASPL....8....9G/0000009.000.html |access-date=1 June 2023 |journal=Leaflet of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific |volume=8 |issue=352 |page=9 |bibcode=1958ASPL....8....9G |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601144624/https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1958ASPL....8....9G/0000009.000.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Daniel Bernoulli]] suggested ''Hypercronius'' and ''Transaturnis''. ''[[Minerva]]'' was also proposed.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Johann_elert_bode_painting.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[Johann Elert Bode]], the astronomer who suggested the name ''Uranus'']]
In a March 1782 treatise, [[Johann Elert Bode]] proposed ''Uranus'', the Latinised version of the [[Greek mythology|Greek god]] of the sky, [[Uranus (mythology)|Ouranos]].<ref name=Bode>{{harvnb|Bode|1784|pp=88–90}}: [In original German]: {{blockquote|{{lang|de|Bereits in der am 12ten März 1782 bei der hiesigen naturforschenden Gesellschaft vorgelesenen Abhandlung, habe ich den Namen des Vaters vom Saturn, nemlich Uranos, oder wie er mit der lateinischen Endung gewöhnlicher ist, Uranus vorgeschlagen, und habe seit dem das Vergnügen gehabt, daß verschiedene Astronomen und Mathematiker in ihren Schriften oder in Briefen an mich, diese Benennung aufgenommen oder gebilligt. Meines Erachtens muß man bei dieser Wahl die Mythologie befolgen, aus welcher die uralten Namen der übrigen Planeten entlehnen worden; denn in der Reihe der bisher bekannten, würde der von einer merkwürdigen Person oder Begebenheit der neuern Zeit wahrgenommene Name eines Planeten sehr auffallen. Diodor von Cicilien erzahlt die Geschichte der Atlanten, eines uralten Volks, welches eine der fruchtbarsten Gegenden in Africa bewohnte, und die Meeresküsten seines Landes als das Vaterland der Götter ansah. Uranus war ihr, erster König, Stifter ihres gesitteter Lebens und Erfinder vieler nützlichen Künste. Zugleich wird er auch als ein fleißiger und geschickter Himmelsforscher des Alterthums beschrieben... Noch mehr: Uranus war der Vater des Saturns und des Atlas, so wie der erstere der Vater des Jupiters.}}}} [Translated]: {{blockquote|Already in the pre-read at the local Natural History Society on 12th March 1782 treatise, I have the father's name from Saturn, namely Uranos, or as it is usually with the Latin suffix, proposed Uranus, and have since had the pleasure that various astronomers and mathematicians, cited in their writings or letters to me approving this designation. In my view, it is necessary to follow the mythology in this election, which had been borrowed from the ancient name of the other planets; because in the series of previously known, perceived by a strange person or event of modern times name of a planet would very noticeable. Diodorus of Cilicia tells the story of Atlas, an ancient people that inhabited one of the most fertile areas in Africa, and looked at the sea shores of his country as the homeland of the gods. Uranus was her first king, founder of their civilized life and inventor of many useful arts. At the same time he is also described as a diligent and skilful astronomers of antiquity ... even more: Uranus was the father of Saturn and the Atlas, as the former is the father of Jupiter.}}</ref> Bode argued that the name should follow the mythology so as not to stand out as different from the other planets, and that Uranus was an appropriate name as the father of the first generation of the [[Titans]].<ref name=Bode/> He also noted the elegance of the name in that just as [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]] was the father of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], the new planet should be named after the father of Saturn.<ref name="Miner12" /><ref name=Bode/><ref name="planetsbeyond" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Astronomy in Berlin |publisher=Brian Daugherty |url=http://bdaugherty.tripod.com/astronomy/bode.html |access-date=24 May 2007 |last=Daugherty |first=Brian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008052101/http://bdaugherty.tripod.com/astronomy/bode.html |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, he was apparently unaware that ''Uranus'' was only the Latinised form of the deity's name, and the Roman equivalent was Caelus. In 1789, Bode's [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences|Royal Academy]] colleague [[Martin Klaproth]] named his newly discovered element [[uranium]] in support of Bode's choice.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Finch |first=James |date=2006 |title=The Straight Scoop on Uranium |url=http://www.allchemicals.info/articles/Uranium.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221011537/http://www.allchemicals.info/articles/Uranium.php |archive-date=21 December 2008 |access-date=30 March 2009 |publisher=AllChemicals}}</ref> Ultimately, Bode's suggestion became the most widely used, and became universal in 1850 when [[HM Nautical Almanac Office]], the final holdout, switched from using ''Georgium Sidus'' to ''Uranus''.<ref name="planetsbeyond" />

Uranus has two [[astronomical symbol]]s. The first to be proposed, [[File:Uranus symbol (fixed width).svg|16px|⛢]],{{efn|name=symbol later}} was proposed by [[Johann Gottfried Köhler]] at Bode's request in 1782.<ref name=platinum>''Astronomisches Jahrbuch für das Jahr 1785.'' George Jacob Decker, Berlin, p. 191.</ref> Köhler suggested that the new planet be given the symbol for [[platinum]], which had been described scientifically only 30 years before. As there was no [[alchemical symbol]] for platinum, he suggested <span style="{{Transform-rotate|180}}">⛢</span> or <span style="{{Transform-rotate|90}}">⛢</span>, a combination of the planetary-metal symbols ☉ (gold) and ♂ (iron), as platinum (or 'white gold') is found mixed with iron. Bode thought that an upright orientation, ⛢, fit better with the symbols for the other planets while remaining distinct.<ref name=platinum/> This symbol predominates in modern astronomical use in the rare cases that symbols are used at all.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Jingjing |last2=Kipping |first2=David |date=2017 |title=Probabilistic Forecasting of the Masses and Radii of Other Worlds |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=834 |issue=1 |pages=17 |arxiv=1603.08614 |doi=10.3847/1538-4357/834/1/17 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2017ApJ...834...17C |issn=0004-637X }}</ref><ref>[https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/680/solar-system-symbols/ Solar System Symbols] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318010355/https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/680/solar-system-symbols/ |date=18 March 2021 }}, NASA/JPL</ref> The second symbol, [[File:Uranus monogram (fixed width).svg|16px|♅]],{{efn|name=symbol first}} was suggested by Lalande in 1784. In a letter to Herschel, Lalande described it as "{{lang|fr|un globe surmonté par la première lettre de votre nom}}" ("a globe surmounted by the first letter of your surname").<ref name="Francisca" /> The second symbol is nearly universal in astrology.

In [[English language|English-language]] [[popular culture]], humour is often derived from the common pronunciation of Uranus's name, which resembles that of the phrase "your [[anus]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Craig |first=Daniel |date=20 June 2017 |title=Very nice job with these Uranus headlines, everyone |url=http://www.phillyvoice.com/very-nice-job-these-uranus-headlines-everyone/ |work=The Philly Voice |location=Philadelphia |access-date=27 August 2017 |archive-date=28 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828062818/http://www.phillyvoice.com/very-nice-job-these-uranus-headlines-everyone/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Uranus is called by a variety of names in other languages. Uranus's name is literally translated as the "[[Heavenly King]] star" in [[Chinese language|Chinese]] ({{Lang-zh|c=天王星|p=Tiānwángxīng|labels=no}}), [[Japanese language|Japanese]] (天王星), [[Korean language|Korean]] (천왕성), and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] (''sao Thiên Vương'').<ref>{{cite book |first=Jan Jakob Maria |last=De Groot |year=1912 |title=Religion in China: universism. a key to the study of Taoism and Confucianism |series=American lectures on the history of religions |volume=10 |page=300 |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAaP7dyjCrAC&pg=PA300 |access-date=8 January 2010 |archive-date=22 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722005812/http://books.google.com/books?id=ZAaP7dyjCrAC&pg=PA300 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Crump |year=1992 |title=The Japanese numbers game: the use and understanding of numbers in modern Japan |url=https://archive.org/details/japanesenumbersg00crum |url-access=limited |pages=[https://archive.org/details/japanesenumbersg00crum/page/n53 39]–40 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-05609-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Homer Bezaleel |last=Hulbert |year=1909 |title=The passing of Korea |page=[https://archive.org/details/passingkorea01hulbgoog/page/n538 426] |publisher=Doubleday, Page & company |url=https://archive.org/details/passingkorea01hulbgoog |access-date=8 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://amateurastronomy.org/EH/Oct97.txt |title=Asian Astronomy 101 |journal=Hamilton Amateur Astronomers |date=1997 |volume=4 |issue=11 |access-date=5 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030514154035/http://amateurastronomy.org/EH/Oct97.txt |archive-date=14 May 2003 }}</ref> In [[Thai language|Thai]], its official name is {{lang|th-Latn|Dao Yurenat}} ({{lang|th|ดาวยูเรนัส}}), as in English. Its other name in Thai is {{lang|th-Latn|Dao Maruettayu}} ({{lang|th|ดาวมฤตยู}}, Star of Mṛtyu), after the [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]] word for 'death', {{lang|sa-Latn|[[Mrtyu]]}} ({{lang|sa|मृत्यु}}). In [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], its name is {{lang|mn-Latn|Tengeriin Van}} ({{lang|mn-Cyrl|Тэнгэрийн ван}}), translated as 'King of the Sky', reflecting its namesake god's role as the ruler of the heavens. In [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]], its name is {{lang|haw|Hele{{okina}}ekala}}, the Hawaiian rendering of the name 'Herschel'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0ped-000Sec--11haw-50-20-frameset-search-uranus-1-011escapewin&a=d&cl=&d=D0.3.3.22&toc=0&p=frameset&p2=search&l=en |title=Hawaiian Dictionary, Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert |access-date=18 December 2018 |archive-date=30 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830233325/http://ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=d-0ped-000Sec--11haw-50-20-frameset-search-uranus-1-011escapewin&a=d&cl=&d=D0.3.3.22&toc=0&p=frameset&p2=search&l=en |url-status=live }}</ref>