On this day in 1781, a musician looked through a telescope…
and accidentally discovered a new planet.

William Herschel was scanning the night sky when he noticed a strange object slowly moving among the stars. At first, he thought it was just a comet.

But the object kept moving in a perfectly circular path.

Soon astronomers realized something astonishing – it wasn’t a comet at all.

It was a new planet.

For thousands of years, humanity believed there were only five planets visible in the sky: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. That was the entire known Solar System.

Until March 13, 1781.

The discovery of Uranus instantly doubled the size of the known Solar System and changed our understanding of the cosmos forever.

Today we know Uranus as a strange and beautiful ice giant – a world that rotates on its side, with seasons that last more than 20 years.

And it was all discovered because one curious human decided to look a little closer at the stars.

Sometimes the biggest discoveries begin with a simple question:

“What is that?”

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