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Uranus and Neptune in the Icy Depths

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Myths, Symbols and Legends of Solar System Bodies

Part of the book series: The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series ((PATRICKMOORE,volume 177))

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Abstract

The planet Uranus was discovered in 1781 by the astronomer William Herschel, who also found two of its moons, Titania and Oberon. It is an ice giant and appears a shade of bluish-green, perhaps azure or natural turquoise in color (Fig. 11.1). It spins on its axis backwards, and the theory is that something large, perhaps another planet, hit Uranus, causing it to be tilted on its side, so it spins on its side when orbiting the Sun. All of its moons line up with this tilted axis.

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Alexander, R. (2015). Uranus and Neptune in the Icy Depths. In: Myths, Symbols and Legends of Solar System Bodies. The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series, vol 177. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7067-0_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7067-0_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7066-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7067-0

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