Tag Archives: Uranus

Uranus and Ariel

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Uranus_ArielUranus’ moon Ariel (white dot) and its shadow (black dot) were caught crossing the face of Uranus in this Hubble Space Telescope image. Note that the cloud bands which are aligned with the planet’s rotation are nearly vertical in the picture. Uranus is the giant planet whose equator is nearly at right angles to its orbit. A collision with an Earth-sized object several billion years ago is the likely cause of Uranus’ tilt. Nearly a twin to Neptune, Uranus has more methane in its mainly hydrogen and helium atmosphere than Jupiter or Saturn. Methane gives Uranus its blue tint.

Image Credit: NASA

Infrared Uranus

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infrared_uranusThe Solar System’s third largest planet usually looks quite plain. Uranus typically appears as a featureless small spot in a small telescope or a featureless large orb in a large telescope. Back in the late ’90s, the Hubble Space Telescope photographed Uranus in infrared light. In this image the distant planet’s unusual clouds, rings, and moons are visible. Analysis indicates that clouds seen here in orange appear to circle Uranus at speeds in excess of 500 km/h.

Image Credit: NASA

To Be or Not To Be Among the Fairies

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What is Hamlet doing hanging out with Oberon from A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Since 1919, the International Astronomical Union has been charged with the task of establishing “conventional” nomenclature for planets, satellites, and surface features. Namesakes from Shakespearean works have been chosen for moons and objects around Uranus. Thus, Oberon, king of the fairies, is also Uranus’ most distant and second largest moon, and Hamlet is a tragically large and princely crater on its surface, the large dark crater to the right of center. This picture shows the known surface features of Oberon. It was constructed by the U.S. Geological Survey based on data from NASA’s Voyager 2.

Image Credit: NASA/USGS

Mixed Mythologies

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Uranus’ moon Ariel (white dot) and its shadow (black dot) were caught crossing the face of Uranus in this Hubble Space Telescope image.

Uranus is named for the Greek deity of the sky (Οὐρανός). Ariel is named for a sky spirit in Pope’s The Rape of the Lock and Shakespeare’s The Tempest. All of Uranus’s moons are named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare or Pope’s The Rape of the Lock.

Image Credit: NASA