Uranus Notes

From the moment that Uranus was discovered by modern civilization, there was upheaval in the traditions of both astronomy and astrology. Saturn had previously been considered to be the boundary between our solar system and the rest of the universe, as it was the outermost planet that could be seen with the naked eye. In an instant of discovery with a piece of technology (Uranus rules discovery, technology, and the "sudden"), our solar system doubled in size.

Uranus is the only planet to be named after a Greek rather than a Roman god, because the Romans identified the Greek god Chronos with Saturn -- the son of Uranus, and oldest god. Uranus, which means heaven, is the 7th planet from the Sun, located near the halfway point between the Sun and Pluto. It was officially discovered in 1781, synchronous with the revolutions in America and abroad. It spins sideways in relation to the rest of the planets, and most of its 27 moons spin retrograde -- contrary to all other planetary and satellite motions. It has 11 thin rings, some of which are kept intact by shepard moons. A blue-green colored gas giant, which appears to roll wideways through its 84-year orbit around the Sun, Uranus spends 42 years with each of its poles alternately in sunlight and darkness. It is the nonconformist eccentric of our solar system.

In mythology, Uranus was Pronmetheus, a Greek superbeing who stole fire from the heavens and gave it to humanity.