Solar System · the sideways giant
Uranus
Tipped on its side and quietly very strange.
Uranus spins on its side, so each pole gets about 42 years of sunlight and then 42 years of darkness. It is cold, calm-looking and far away.
The Uranus Watch observatory sits on one of its icy moons, listening to the far edge of the Solar System. It is the quietest posting going, which is exactly why strange signals get noticed here first.
Because Uranus is tipped over, its seasons are huge and slow. One pole is coming out of decades of darkness; the other is just going in.
Atmosphere
Pale blue-green, still and cold; faint rings standing upright in the sky.
Local quirk
Birthdays are counted in Uranus years. Nobody here is older than one.
Regions · proposed names, not locked canon
Uranus Watch
A lonely observatory on an ice moon, scanning deep space.
Miranda Cliffs
An ice moon with some of the tallest cliffs in the Solar System.
The Long Night
The pole currently facing away from the Sun, dark for decades.
Hazards
- ▲Extreme coldAmong the coldest atmospheres in the Solar System.
- ▲IsolationHelp is a long way off.
- ▲Decades-long darknessLights must never fail.
Visitor tips
- ✦Bring a hobby.
- ✦Check the heaters twice.
- ✦Answer the bell.
Local life
- ●Observatory staff
- ●Very patient astronomers
A day on Uranus
The observatory runs to Earth time, otherwise nobody would ever know when to sleep.
Staff listen to deep space through headphones for hours, and swap the strangest sounds they hear over dinner.
Locals & customs
Director Amaru Kell
Runs Uranus Watch. Has heard every strange signal in the outer system, and filed them all.
Biscuit
The observatory cat. Not allowed outside. Has been outside twice.
- ◆Strange signals get rung in on a little bell.
- ◆Whoever hears something first names it.
Legends & history
The Upright Ring
Some say Uranus was knocked over by a giant crash long ago, and one piece of that ancient world still orbits somewhere nearby.
Uranus Watch has a whole drawer of maybes about it.
Crew log
“A quiet posting. Too quiet. I don't trust it.”
“It's just quiet.”
Story seed · in development
Wrong Number
Uranus Watch picks up a message for Earth. It's an order for 4,000 pizzas, and it's coming from outside the Solar System.
The pizza order is a code. The real message is a warning, and Uranus Watch is the only place that can hear the reply.
Earthward stakes
Uranus Watch is Earth's early-warning ear on the outer system.
Onobo packs
Science inspiration
Uranus is real: an ice giant tilted on its side with extreme seasons. Scientists think diamonds may rain deep inside it. The observatory is fiction.
NASA: Uranus