Uranus

""I'm sorry, Fry, but astronomers renamed Uranus in 2620 to end that stupid joke once and for all." "Oh. What's it called now?" "Urectum!""

– Professor Farnsworth and Philip J Fry

"Haha, he/she/they/you said Uranus!"

– Every teenager in the world at some point

Uranus is an ice giant in the Sol system and the target of approximately ten million butthole jokes ever since it was named.

Overview and History

Okay, look, there are gonna be some easy jokes in here, just go with it.

Uranus was observed by several astronomers throughout history, possibly including the ancient Greek Hipparchos, who might have included it in his star catalogue. In 1690, it was classified as a probable star by the first English Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed. In 1781, Sir William Herschel began intensively studying Uranus. At first, he believed it was a comet, but ultimately concluded that it had to be a planet, which several other astronomers had already realized. He was formally credited as the planet's discoverer, and thereupon ensued a long argument over what the new planet should be named. Herschel wanted to call it George's Planet in honor of King George III, on the logic that the ancients had named the other planets after their heroes and divinities, so they might as well name this one after a modern-day hero. Precisely nobody outside Britain liked this idea, and a variety of other names were proposed, including Herschel, Neptune, and Neptune Great Britain. German astronomer Johann Bode had first suggested Uranus in 1782 because he thought it was appropriate that, just as Saturn/Cronus was the father of Jupiter/Zeus in Greco-Roman mythology, the new planet should be named for Saturn's father Uranus/Ouranus. Bode apparently hadn't been paying attention when he learned his mythology, because "Uranus" was actually the Latinized form of "Ouranos", and the actual name of the Roman equivalent to Ouranos was Caelus. Uranus ultimately won the argument and became the common name. Most astronomers pronounce it "your-a-nuss" to try and dodge the jokes, but basically every other English-speaker on Earth goes with the "standard" pronunciation of "your-anus", because duh. The planet has much less embarrassing names in several other languages, including Tengeriin Van (Mongolian, meaning "King of the Sky"), Dao Maritayu (Thai, meaning approximately "Star of Death"), and Hele'ekala (Hawaiian, loanword for Herschel).

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. Like its neighbor and near-twin Neptune, it is classified as an ice giant due to most of its atmosphere being made up of volatile compounds like water and ammonia that are considered "ices" in planetary science. It is notable for having a rotational axis that is tilted sideways so that its poles are where the equator should be. When Voyager 2 did its flyby in 1989, it sent back images that showed a blank white ball of nothing, unlike the much prettier planets such as Saturn and Jupiter.

Warhammer 40,000

Humanity settled Uranus during the great expansionist period of the Age of Terra. Though the planet itself was not habitable, the early colonists built a bunch of orbital stations, weapons platforms, and the Elysian Gate, a Warp gate that allowed ships to bypass the system's Mandeville points. Its moons were turned into mining colonies that produced valuable minerals and elements for the Imperial war machine. This made Uranus a key strategic point for the Imperium. Upon the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, it was made the center of the Second Sphere of Sol's defenses under the command of Captain Halbrecht of the Imperial Fists. During the Solar War, Perturabo and the Iron Warriors laid siege to the planet and its moons and orbital stations with the aim of securing the Elysian Gate. Perty successfully captured Uranus, only for it to be reclaimed by the Imperium after the traitors were defeated and chased out of the system. At the beginning of the Indomitus Crusade, Crusade Fleet Quintus was mustering around Uranus when the battleship Embrace of Fire abruptly exploded while firing up its Warp drives. This incident, apparently a case of sabotage, triggered a chain reaction that devastated the fleet and sent debris raining down on Uranus and its moons, causing heavy damage.