To Uranus and beyond

Abstract

Voyager 2, a sophisticated robotic spacecraft that originally was to fly past Jupiter and Saturn and to last four years, was launched in 1977. Since then it has flown by Uranus and is headed towards Neptune, and still is in contact with spacecraft monitors. Features of Voyager 2, Uranus, its moons and rings, and details of the spacecraft's encounter with Uranus are described. Included is a brief history of Uranus' discovery and astronomers' observations.