# Herschel's Discovery: When Uranus Doubled Our Solar System

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1:00Lunatic in the newsroom, listen today. Mrs. Your Astronomy Tonight Podcast. Welcome Star Grazers. On March 10th, we celebrate one of the most dramatic discoveries in astronomical history. The day in 1977, when William Herschel discovered Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun. Picture this, it's the evening of March 10th, 1977, and William Herschel, a German-born British astronomer, is doing what he does best, methodically scanning the night sky with his telescope from his garden and bar thingland. He's actually looking for something else entirely, when he notices a peculiar, faint greenish disc moving against the background of stars. At first, he thinks it might be a comet, but further observations reveal something far more extraordinary. This object is a planet, the first one discovered since ancient times. This was absolutely revolutionary. For thousands of years, humans had observed five planets moving across our sky. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

2:05Everyone thought that was it, the complete set. But Herschel's discovery suddenly doubled the known size of our solar system overnight. It was as if the universe itself had winked and said, Plot twist. Uranus is a magnificent ice giant, a massive ball of methane, ammonia, and waterice, rotating on its side at a truly bonkers angle. In fact, its axial tilt of 98 degrees means it literally rolls around the sun like a cosmic bowling ball, a unique characteristic no other planet shares. What makes this discovery even more delightful, is that Herschel initially wanted to name it Georgian Siders, the Georgian star after King George III, which would have been hilariously pretentious. Fortunately, the astronomical community had better taste, and we ended up with the name Uranus, meaning the classical mythology theme of the other planets. If you loved learning about this incredible astronomical milestone, please subscribe to the Astronomy Tonight podcast, so you never miss another cosmic discovery. For more detailed information about Uringus, Tonight Sky, or any other astronomical wonders,

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