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Moons & Rings

The Moons of Uranus

Uranus has 27 small moons. All of these moons are named after characters from the works of Shakespeare or Alexander Pope. The moons are mostly composed of half ice and half rock and most of them lack an atmosphere.

Uranus and Its Five Major Moons

Ariel

Ariel is the fourth largest moon of Uranus. It was named by Sir Jon Herschel, the son of William Herschel, after the character "Ariel" from Shakespeare's "The Tempest" and Pope's poem “The Rape of the Lock.”

Titania

Titania is the largest moon of Uranus and the 8th largest in the solar system. Photos from Voyager II show that Titania had been geologically active at one point.Titania was named after the queen of the fairies from "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Oberon

Oberon is the second largest moon of Uranus and is also heavily cratered. Oberon has a mountain on its surface that is about 6km high. Oberon was named after the king of the fairies in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Umbriel

Umbriel is the darkest moon of Uranus. Umbriel is also the most heavily cratered moon, and scientists still do not know why the surface is so dark. Umbriel was named after a malevolent spirit from Alexander Pope's "Rape of the Lock."

Miranda

Miranda, the smallest and innermost satellite of Uranus, actually has the highest cliff in the solar system. The cliff is called Verona Rupes, and it is a 20 kilometer-high scarp. Miranda was named after the daughter of Prospero in William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest."

The Rings of Uranus

Uranus has 13 total rings, but they are separated into two sets. The inner set of rings has 11 narrow and dark rings. Nine of these inner rings were discovered in 1977 by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Jessica Mink. Later, when Voyager 2 passed, two more inner rings were discovered. Then, in 2003–2005, the two rings in the outer set were discovered by the Hubble Space telescope. These rings were most likely formed by early moons that were ripped apart by the gravity of Uranus.

Solid lines indicate rings, dotted lines indicate the orbits of Uranus' moons

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