"He is already a century
Among the Roman brothers Greek
And through space longing
Rushing, lying on its side. "
Olesya Emelyanova
Ice giant
Uranus is the seventh and third largest planet in our solar system. Although its size is inferior to Saturn and Jupiter, it also applies to giant planets.
Uranus became the first planet discovered in modern times, but it has long been considered a star, despite repeated studies.
Recall that the difference between stars and planets is huge - it consists in mass, chemical composition, the presence of satellites (stars do not have them). In addition, stars emit light, while planets only reflect it.
A bit of history ...
Uranium was discovered 3 times. However, it was only in the late 1700s that the astronomer William Herschel determined that it was a planet, and even named it in honor of King George, his then patron. However, later the planet received the name of the god Uranus, who personifies the sky. This name was proposed by the German astronomer Johann Bode. And of course, the astrogues were interested in how many satellites Uranus had (including Neptune, since they were studied at about the same time).
Interesting facts about the planet Uranus
Uranus, like Venus, moves counterclockwise. The axis of its inclination is almost 100%, so it seems as if it lies on its side. The planet is considered the coldest known and consists of 80% ice, the temperature of its atmosphere is -224 ° C. Its atmosphere consists of helium, methane and hydrogen (the percentage of the latter is 82%). Thanks to methane, the atmosphere of the planet has acquired a blue-green hue of the sea. But how many satellites have the planet Uranus, we will consider below.
One year on Uranus is 84 Earth years. A day on the planet lasts 17 hours. While the rays of the Sun fall on one part of Uranus, causing unbearable heat, cold and gloom reign on the other planet. It has a magnetic field similar to the Earth’s magnetic field. The planet, as scientists know, has 13 rings.
In addition to studying Uranus itself, its companions cause considerable interest among experts. Today we will consider how many satellites Uranus has and what is known about them at the moment.
Satellites of Uranus
The satellites of this planet are an interesting topic to study. The first thorough study of Uranus began in 1986. Then, using the Voyager 2 spacecraft, detailed images of the planet and its satellites were obtained. At first 5 large satellites were discovered, later - more than 10 hitherto unknown.
Today, Voyager 2 is the only device that has visited Uranus.
So how many satellites does Uranus have? Astrology knows 27 satellites, 5 of which are the largest.
All the satellites of Uranus were named after the heroes of the plays of Shakespeare and Pole.
Initially, 15 satellites were known, which were divided into 2 classes: 10 internal, weak and dim, and 5 external, large. They were the first to be discovered.
The first 2 satellites of the planet were discovered by William Herschel - Titania and Oberon. Ariel and Umbriel were later discovered (discovery made by Wilm Lassel). Names were invented by his son Herschel - John. And the last, a major companion to Miranda, was discovered by Kuiper in 1948.
The largest moons of Uranus
Miranda. Its temperature is -187 ° C. The farthest and smallest of the largest satellites of the ice giant. Named after the heroine of Shakespeare's Storm. Despite its small diameter (about 500 km), Miranda has a diverse relief - ledges, plains, canyons, craters and faults. Typically, such small satellites have a more even surface.
Miranda is considered the ugliest companion, as she seems to be made of many uneven pieces. Perhaps, an asteroid once broke it, but the particles again attracted to each other over time.
Ariel The youngest and brightest satellite, the fourth largest. The surface of Ariel is characterized by a uniform layer and a small number of craters and is covered with hoarfrost. At the same time, Ariel is dotted with rifts (valleys), the depth of which reaches 10 km. Thanks to the smooth bottom of the rifts, scientists guess the echoes of some activity. Some researchers believe that Ariel can be active today.
Umbriel. It is considered the darkest of the satellites of the ice giant, it is devoid of light emissions, but on its surface has several craters with a bright bottom. Darkness is explained by its antiquity. Judging by the primitive uneven surface, the satellite was subject to impacts of large formations, but at the same time a small number of geological processes.
Interestingly, the satellite equator is located at the border of night and day.
Oberon. The second largest satellite, the most distant from Uranus. Oberon, named after the king of fairies, has a surface with craters that store traces of internal activity. It has a dark surface with a red tint. The satellite is dotted with traces of asteroid impacts and a network of canyons that arose even during its formation.
Titania is the wife of Oberon, according to Shakespeare, and the largest moon of Uranus. It takes 8th place in size among other satellites of the solar system. Yields to our moon. Titania is shrouded in a shell of ice and stones. On its surface are many craters and canyons.
Conclusion
When answering the question about how many satellites Uranus is, one should not forget about the other bodies accompanying it - there are 22 more. Among them, internal and irregular ones are distinguished.
So, Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Cressinda, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda, Perdit, Pak and Mab belong to the internal satellites.
Irregular satellites of Uranus: Francisco, Caliban, Stefano, Trinculo, Sinorax, Margarita, Prospero, Setebos, Ferdinand.
Today we examined how many satellites Uranus has, their names and features.