Ariel, the fourth-largest of the 27 known moons of Uranus, discovered by William Lassell (1799 - 1880) on 28 October, 1851. It was named for a character in two different pieces of literature, for a sky spirit in Alexander Popes The Rape of the Lock and Shakespeares The Tempest. Ariel orbits and rotates in the equatorial plane of Uranus, which is almost perpendicular to the orbit of Uranus, and so has an extreme seasonal cycle. Ariel probably formed from an accretion disc that surrounded the planet shortly after its formation, and, like other large moons, it is likely differentiated, with an inner core of rock surrounded by a mantle of ice. Ariel has a complex surface consisting of extensive cratered terrain cross-cut by a system of scarps, canyons and ridges. The surface shows signs of more recent geological activity than other Uranian moons, most likely due to tidal heating. Among Uranuss five major moons, Ariel is the second closest to the planet, orbiting at the distance of about 190,000 kms. Its orbit has a small eccentricity and is inclined very little relative to the equator of Uranus. Its orbital period is around 2.5 Earth days, coincident with its rotational period. This means that one side of the moon always faces the planet; a condition known as tidal lock. Ariels orbit lies completely inside the Uranian magnetosphere. References: merriam-webster/dictionary/ariel?show=0&t=1293876560, Retrieved 28 July, 2012, Herschel, William, Sr. (1 January 1798). On the Discovery of Four Additional Satellites of the Georgium Sidus. The Retrograde Motion of Its Old Satellites Announced; And the Cause of Their Disappearance at Certain Distances from the Planet Explained. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London 88: 47–79, ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_elem, Retrieved 29 July, 2012, Smith, B. A.; Soderblom, L. A.; Beebe, A.; Bliss, D.; Boyce, J. M.; Brahic, A.; Briggs, G. A.; Brown, R. H. et al. (4 July 1986). Voyager 2 in the Uranian System: Imaging Science Results. Science 233 (4759): 43–64, Krimigis, S. M.; Armstrong, T. P.; Axford, W. I.; Cheng, A. F.; Gloeckler, G.; Hamilton, D. C.; Keath, E. P.; Lanzerotti, L. J. et al. (4 July 1986). The Magnetosphere of Uranus: Hot Plasma and Radiation Environment. Science 233 (4759): 97–102.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 08:30:01 +0000
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