Uranus in fiction

Uranus has been used as a setting in works of fiction since shortly after its 1781 discovery, albeit infrequently. The earliest depictions portrayed it as having a solid surface, whereas later stories portrayed it more accurately as a gaseous planet. Its moons have also appeared in a handful of works. Both the planet and its moons have experienced a slight trend of increased representation in fiction over time. File:Solar system.jpg|alt=A photomontage of the eight planets and the Moon|thumb|Uranus appears infrequently in fiction compared to other locations in the [[Solar System]]. Clicking on a planet leads to the article about its depiction in fiction. circle 1250 4700 650 [[Neptune in fiction]] circle 2150 4505 525 [[Uranus in fiction]] circle 2890 3960 610 [[Saturn in fiction]] circle 3450 2880 790 [[Jupiter in fiction]] circle 3015 1770 460 [[Mars in fiction]] circle 2370 1150 520 [[Earth in science fiction]] circle 3165 590 280 [[Moon in science fiction]] circle 1570 785 475 [[Venus in fiction]] circle 990 530 320 [[Mercury in fiction]] Uranus was discovered in 1781 and has comparatively rarely been featured in fiction since then; in the catalogue of early science fiction works compiled by E. F. Bleiler and Richard Bleiler in the reference works Science-Fiction: The Early Years from 1990 and Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years from 1998, Uranus only appears in 6 (out of 2,475) and 9 (out of 1,835) works respectively, compared to 194 for Mars in fiction and 131 for Venus in fiction in The Gernsback Years alone. Various explanations for this lack of representation have been proposed, including the planet's relatively late date of discovery, its remote location, its presumed hostile environmental conditions, and its featureless appearance in telescopes. The planet's first appearance in a work of fiction was in the pseudonymous "Monsieur Vivenair"s 1784 novel A Journey Lately Performed Through the Air, in an Aerostatic Globe, Commonly Called an Air Balloon, from this Terraqueous Globe to the Newly Discovered Planet, Georgium Sidus, a satire of the then-reigning British monarch George III and his court.