Concept in Definition ABC

The god Saturn of the mythology It gives its name to the planet Saturn and the same happens with other divinities such as Mars, Neptune or Jupiter. In the case of Uranus, we find again the binomial between mythology and astronomy.

In the mythological tale of the Greeks

In Greek mythology, Uranus was the son of Gaea, who had several descendants, including Uranus, who, in turn, was the father of the Cyclopes, who were expelled by Uranus to hell. However, his other sons (the Titans) decided to take revenge and attacked his father. Specifically, it was the titan Crono who attacked Uranus while he slept, leaving him badly injured and ripping off his genitals. Nymphs were born from the blood shed by Uranus. By ripping off his genitals with his left hand, this hand has been left as the symbol of something sinister and therefore left and sinister have the same etymology.

As a consequence of the loss of power of Uranus, Crono initially released the Cyclops but later he once again sent them to hell (for the Greeks hell was known as the Tartar). But Uranus had not yet died and before the behavior of his son Crono prophesied that he would end up being betrayed by his own children, just as it had happened to him.

Characteristics of the planet Uranus

It is a planet formed by a toxic gas and is considered one of the strangest planets in the solar system

Space missions have been sent to Mars, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter, but Uranus has not piqued the interest of astronomers.

Its size is 60 times that of the Earth and its mass is made up of methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, substances that surround a rocky core.

Uranus is orbited by 26 small moons and some surrounding rings, just like Saturn.

Unlike any other planet in the Solar system, Uranus rotates on an axis that points almost directly to the Sun, a totally singular within the planetary movements.

The winter Uranus is equivalent to 42 Earth years and the Sun cannot be seen during this period of time.

The kind of atmosphere and the magnetic field are other peculiar characteristics of Uranus.

Its unique properties make think to astronomers that greater knowledge of Uranus may shed light on the origin of the solar system as a whole.

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