The coldest planet in our solar system, Uranus, also has the record for most moons. At 27, Uranus can be called a moon planet. And those are just the moons that have been discovered. Perhaps there are more moons orbiting this planet that has one long day of summer ‘“ 42 years in fact. But enough about this planet. Here are some interesting facts about its amazing moons.
Fact 1: Uranus’ moons are named after Shakespearean characters, including Ariel, Umbriel, Miranda, Juliet, Rosalind, and Bianca. None are named Romeo.
Fact 2: Uranus’ largest moons, Titania and Oberon, were discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. Titania is half the size of Earth’s moon and Oberon has a mountain that is twice as high as Mt. Everest.
Fact 3: Miranda, discovered in 1948 by Gerard Kuiper, is Uranus’ smallest moon and is visible from Earth. It also has surface canyons twelve times deeper than the Grand Canyon.
Fact 4: Ariel and Umbriel were discovered in 1851 by William Lassell. Umbriel has a mysterious bright ring on its side.
Fact 5: Some of Uranus’ moons are actually captured asteroids that spin in the opposite direction of Uranus’ orbit.
Fact 6: There are thirteen inner moons and Uranus has thirteen rings, all of which are intricately connected. These inner moons consist of half ice and half rock.
Fact 7: Uranus’ inner moons are shepherd moons. Their gravitational pull is what gives the planet’s rings their defined shape.
Fact 8: Moon S/1986 U 10 has no name because scientists debate its existence.
Fact 9: Uranus and its moons are 3 billion miles away.
Fact 10: Some of Uranus’s moons are quite small at only 8-10 miles across.
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