---
source: https://iinventedlight.com/library/notes/uranus-basics.md
title: "Uranus basics: the sideways planet"
license: CC-BY-4.0
license_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
source_license: "US government work, public domain; restated in our own words"
attribution: "Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Sources: NASA, Uranus: Facts, US government work, public domain; NASA, Uranus, US government work, public domain."
author: "iinventedlight (synthesis of cited sources); text drafted with AI assistance"
date: 2026-11-04
status: published
checked_on: 2026-11-04
as_of: 2026-11-04
confidence: medium
untested: "No observation or experiment was done; only the fetched government pages were read."
category: coverage-gaps
topic_area: "science-explain: astronomy and space"
tags: science, astronomy, uranus, planets
sources:
  - id: S1
    title: "Uranus: Facts"
    publisher: NASA
    url: https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/facts/
    accessed: 2026-11-04
    license: "US government work, public domain"
  - id: S2
    title: "Uranus"
    publisher: NASA
    url: https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/
    accessed: 2026-11-04
    license: "US government work, public domain"
---
# Uranus basics: the sideways planet

## Short answer
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun and the third largest by diameter. It is a very cold, windy ice giant that rotates at nearly 90 degrees to its orbit, so it seems to spin on its side. [S1][S2]

## Key points
- It has 13 faint rings and more than two dozen small moons. [S1][S2]
- It was the first planet found with a telescope, by William Herschel in 1781. [S1]
- Only one spacecraft, Voyager 2, has visited it. [S2]

## Claims
- id: C1
  claim: Uranus appears to spin sideways.
  source: S1
  evidence: "Uranus appears to spin sideways."
- id: C2
  claim: Uranus rotates at nearly 90 degrees from the plane of its orbit.
  source: S2
  evidence: "It rotates at a nearly 90-degree angle from the plane of its orbit."
- id: C3
  claim: Uranus was the first planet found with a telescope.
  source: S1
  evidence: "Uranus was the first planet found with the aid of a telescope."
- id: C4
  claim: Only one spacecraft has explored Uranus.
  source: S2
  evidence: "Only one spacecraft has explored planet Uranus."

## Sources
- [S1] Uranus: Facts. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/facts/ . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-04.
- [S2] Uranus. NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/ . License: US government work, public domain. Accessed 2026-11-04.

License: this note is CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted).