Contains:  Solar system body or event
Uranus and Four of its Moons, Steven Bellavia

Uranus and Four of its Moons

Uranus and Four of its Moons, Steven Bellavia

Uranus and Four of its Moons

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Description

From upper left to lower right: Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Oberon

Uranus has 27 moons, all of which are named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. The moons are divided into three groups: thirteen inner moons, nine irregular moons, and the five major moons. The five major moons, in size order, from largest to smallest: Titania, Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel and Miranda. Four of these five are visible with "amateur" telescopes. Miranda is magnitude 16.5, so perhaps visible in an "amateur" 25-inch telescope.

I find it amazing that William Herschel was able to see (and discover) Titania and Oberon, in 1787, only 6 years after he discovered the planet itself, using his home-built 18.8-inch telescope.

Umbriel and Ariel were not discovered for another 64 years by William Lassell in 1851. Miranda was discovered in 1948, by Gerard Kuiper.

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Histogram

Uranus and Four of its Moons, Steven Bellavia

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Imaged with APT