Discovery of Uranus
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.030918
On this day in 1781 William Herschel began a series of observations from his home observatory in the English city of Bath. His target was an object that did not appear to be star. At first, he thought it was a comet, but after four nights of observing he concluded that he had discovered a new planet. Herschel’s initial choice of name, George’s Planet (after England’s King George III), eventually gave way to a less nationalistic name, Uranus (the Ancient Roman sky god, father of Saturn and grandfather of Jupiter). Uranus has been visited just once by spacecraft. In 1986 Voyager 2 flew by the planet on its way through the Solar System.
Date in History: 13 March 1781
