The seventh planet from the Sun was discovered by chance from the English astronomer William Herschel with a small 17-cm telescope on March 13th, 1781 next to the binary star system η and ν of Gemini. The planet was named Uranus because it is located beyond Saturn who, according to mythology, was his son.

Average distance from the Sun: 2.9 billion km
Distance from Earth: Minimum 2.58 billion km, Maximum 3.15 billion km
Mass: 14.5 times the mass of Earth
Diameter: 51,118 km
Day duration: 17.2 earth hours
Year duration: 84 earth years
Temperature: -2160 Celsius
Atmosphere: Hydrogen, helium, methane
Surface gravity: 0.90 times that of Earth (If on Earth you weigh 70kg, on Uranus's surface you would weigh 65 kg)
Known satellites: 20 +