There are many unexplained climate phenomena in Uranus's atmosphere, such as its peak wind speed of 900 km/h (560 mph),[23] variations in its polar cap, and its erratic cloud formation.

Moreover, the comet being magnified much beyond what its light would admit of, appeared hazy and ill-defined with these great powers, while the stars preserved that lustre and distinctness which from many thousand observations I knew they would retain.

Berlin astronomer Johann Elert Bode described Herschel's discovery as "a moving star that can be deemed a hitherto unknown planet-like object circulating beyond the orbit of Saturn".

By 1783, Herschel acknowledged this to Royal Society president Joseph Banks: "By the observation of the most eminent Astronomers in Europe it appears that the new star, which I had the honour of pointing out to them in March 1781, is a Primary Planet of our Solar System.

"[39] In recognition of his achievement, King George III gave Herschel an annual stipend of £200 (equivalent to £30,000 in 2023)[40] on condition that he moved to Windsor so that the Royal Family could look through his telescopes.

[44] He explained this decision in a letter to Joseph Banks:[39] In the fabulous ages of ancient times the appellations of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were given to the Planets, as being the names of their principal heroes and divinities.

[50] Ultimately, Bode's suggestion became the most widely used, and became universal in 1850 when HM Nautical Almanac Office, the final holdout, switched from using Georgium Sidus to Uranus.

In Mongolian, its name is Tengeriin Van (Тэнгэрийн ван), translated as 'King of the Sky', reflecting its namesake god's role as the ruler of the heavens.

[60][61][65] Recent simulations of planetary migration have suggested that both ice giants formed closer to the Sun than their present positions, and moved outwards after formation (the Nice model).

[70] With time, discrepancies began to appear between predicted and observed orbits, and in 1841, John Couch Adams first proposed that the differences might be due to the gravitational tug of an unseen planet.

[75] Research by Jacob Kegerreis of Durham University suggests that the tilt resulted from a rock larger than Earth crashing into the planet 3 to 4 billion years ago.

[7] On larger amateur telescopes with an objective diameter of between 15 and 23 cm, Uranus appears as a pale cyan disk with distinct limb darkening.

[17] The standard model of Uranus's structure is that it consists of three layers: a rocky (silicate/iron–nickel) core in the centre, an icy mantle in the middle, and an outer gaseous hydrogen/helium envelope.

[85] The extreme pressure and temperature deep within Uranus may break up the methane molecules, with the carbon atoms condensing into crystals of diamond that rain down through the mantle like hailstones.

[88][89] Very-high-pressure experiments at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory suggest that an ocean of metallic liquid carbon, perhaps with floating solid 'diamond-bergs', may comprise the base of the mantle.

[17] For the sake of convenience, a revolving oblate spheroid set at the point at which atmospheric pressure equals 1 bar (100 kPa) is conditionally designated as a "surface".

[18][111] The heat sources necessary to sustain such a high level are not understood, as neither the solar UV nor the auroral activity can provide the necessary energy to maintain these temperatures.

[119] In 2023, a team employing the Very Large Array observed a dark collar at 80° latitude, and a bright spot at the north pole, indicating the presence of a polar vortex.

There is a possibility that the power of Uranian lightning varies greatly with the seasons caused by changes in convection rates in the clouds[127] The UEDs were detected from 600,000 km of Uranus, most of which were not visible.

[127] During the Ice Giant flybys, "Voyager 2" detected lightning more clearly on Uranus than on Neptune due to the planet's lower gravity and possible warmer deep atmosphere.

[124] In the 1990s, as Uranus moved away from its solstice, Hubble and ground-based telescopes revealed that the south polar cap darkened noticeably (except the southern collar, which remained bright),[118] whereas the northern hemisphere demonstrated increasing activity,[116] such as cloud formations and stronger winds, bolstering expectations that it should brighten soon.

[124] Near the summer and winter solstices, Uranus's hemispheres lie alternately either in full glare of the Sun's rays or facing deep space.

[118] The variation of the microwave emission from Uranus is probably caused by changes in the deep tropospheric circulation, because thick polar clouds and haze may inhibit convection.

[135] Studies of Voyager 2 data in 2017 suggest that this asymmetry causes Uranus's magnetosphere to connect with the solar wind once a Uranian day, opening the planet to the Sun's particles.

The interaction with the solar wind event could also explain the apparent paradox of presence of strong electron radiation belts despite the otherwise low magnetospheric plasma density measured.

Still, Herschel made an accurate description of the epsilon ring's size, its angle relative to Earth, its red colour, and its apparent changes as Uranus travelled around the Sun.

[159][160] The ring system was definitively discovered on 10 March 1977 by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Jessica Mink using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory.

[166] Launched in 1977, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Uranus on 24 January 1986, coming within 81,500 km (50,600 mi) of the cloudtops, before continuing its journey to Neptune.

The spacecraft studied the structure and chemical composition of Uranus's atmosphere,[101] including its unique weather, caused by its extreme axial tilt.

Diodorus of Cilicia tells the story of Atlas, an ancient people that inhabited one of the most fertile areas in Africa, and looked at the sea shores of his country as the homeland of the gods.