The axis of Uranus is tilted nearly perpendicular to the Sun and it appears that it orbits on its side. The large inclination on its orbit makes it appear to be lying down, that is why it is called 'a planet on its side'. We note here that none of the planets except Uranus is tilted more than 30 degrees. For example, while earth is tilted 23 degrees, Jupiter at 3 degrees while Saturn and Neptune both at 29 degrees. On the other hand, the spin axis of Uranus lies 98 degrees off of its orbital plane with the Sun. As per scientists, a planet of size of Earth smashed into Uranus several times in the early solar system that made it have such a large inclination.
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