Uranus’ Moons — Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon

Description:

Uranus has 27 moons, all of which are named after characters in Shakespeare and Alexander Pope works. The five main satellites, in order of proximity to Uranus, are Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. Before the Voyager 2 studied Uranus in 1986, these five moons were the only ones known to exist.

Miranda (a character in The Tempest by Shakespeare) has a surface unlike any other in the solar system. One theory for the jumbled appearance is that the moon has shattered and reformed up to five times, creating a surface of both young and old material. Another explanation involves the upwelling of partially melted ices.

Ariel (a character in The Tempest by Shakespeare and also a character in a Pope poem) is the brightest moon of Uranus. The most notable features on this moon are the craters that cover the surface as well as the interconnected rift valleys that run across the moon. Some of the valleys are up to 6 miles deep.

Umbriel (a character in The Rape of the Lock by Pope) is the darkest moon of Uranus. It is also the least geologically active satellite with a heavily cratered surface indicating that it is old. Near the equator of Umbriel is a bright ring referred to the as the Fluorescent Cheerio or Wunda. The origin of this is unknown, though it is believed to be the floor of a crater.

Titania (Queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare) has a surface remarkably similar to that of Ariel. Covered in craters and interconnected valleys like Ariel, Titania is 35% larger than Ariel and is the largest of the known satellites orbiting Uranus. One of the most notable features is a trench that extends for over 1000 miles. It is thought that the satellite was once hot and the valleys and trenches are the result of the planet freezing and expanding.

Oberon (King of the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare) is similar to Umbriel but 35% larger. Heavily cratered and geologically inactive, Oberon is the second largest moon of Uranus. In many of the large craters that cover the surface there is a dark material that coats the crater floors. It is still unknown what causes this. Also of interest on Oberon is a mountain that is over 4 miles tall.

Data Category

Major: Astronomy
Minor: Uranus

Keywords:

Astronomy, moon, Uranus

Data Set Name	Miranda (Uranus moon)
Data Set Directory Name	uranus_moons/miranda
Data Set Source	Voyager   Image details
Data Set Developer	David Seal William Johnston
Visualization Developer	Steve Albers, NOAA/GSD
Audio	No
Download	FTP

Data Set Name	Ariel (Uranus moon)
Data Set Directory Name	uranus_moons/ariel
Data Set Source	Voyager   Image details
Data Set Developer	David Seal Ted Stryk Steve Albers NOAA/GSD
Visualization Developer	Steve Albers, NOAA/GSD
Audio	No
Download	FTP

Data Set Name	Umbriel (Uranus moon)
Data Set Directory Name	uranus_moons/umbriel
Data Set Source	Voyager   Image details
Data Set Developer	Phil Stooke
Visualization Developer	Steve Albers, NOAA/GSD
Audio	No
Download	FTP

Data Set Name	Titania (Uranus moon)
Data Set Directory Name	uranus_moons/titania
Data Set Source	Voyager   Image details
Data Set Developer	David Seal Ted Stryk Steve Albers NOAA/GSD
Visualization Developer	Steve Albers, NOAA/GSD
Audio	No
Download	FTP

Data Set Name	Oberon (Uranus moon)
Data Set Directory Name	uranus_moons/oberon
Data Set Source	Voyager   Image details
Data Set Developer	David Seal Ted Stryk Steve Albers NOAA/GSD
Visualization Developer	Steve Albers, NOAA/GSD
Audio	No
Download	FTP