The seventh planet from the sun is much like its gaseous neighbors, with a cloudy surface, rapid winds, and a small rocky core.

Uranus data (averages):
Diameter: 31,763 miles
Time to rotate: 17 hours, 54 minutes
Orbit: 84 Earth years

Compared to Earth:
Mass: 14.5 times Earth's
Diameter: 4.1 times Earth's
Distance from Sun: 19.2 times as far

URANUS: PERSONIFICATION OF HEAVEN IN ANCIENT MYTH

Perhaps because of a collision with a large object long ago, Uranus orbits at an extreme tilt of 98 degrees -- sort of on its side. This causes one pole to point toward the sun for decades, giving the planet strange seasons.

Uranus has numerous satellites and a faint set of rings. If all the possible satellites being studied are confirmed, Uranus would have 16 regular and five irregular moons, making it the most populated planetary satellite system known. Saturn is known to have 18 satellites (there may be more, but they have not been well-documented).

Historical notes

Uranus was thought to be a star until William Herschel discovered in 1781 that it orbited the Sun.