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Ariel (moon) facts for kids

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Ariel (moon)
Image of Ariel obtained by Voyager 2 in 1986

Ariel is a moon of Uranus found on October 24, 1851 by William Lassell. It was found at the same time as Umbriel.

The moon is named after the leading sylph in Alexander Pope's poem Rape of the Lock. It is also the name of the spirit who serves Prospero in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Moons

Ariel · Belinda · Bianca · Caliban · Cordelia · Cressida · Cupid · Desdemona · Ferdinand · Francisco · Juliet · Mab · Margaret · Miranda ·
Oberon · Ophelia · Perdita · Portia · Prospero · Puck · Rosalind · Setebos · Stephano · Sycorax · Titania · Trinculo · Umbriel
Other: Arieal features · Miranda features · Puck Craters · Umbriel craters

Miranda's Verona Rupes · Umbriel Crater Wunda
Uranus2.jpg
Characteristics
Atmosphere · Rings of Uranus
Discovery
Exploration
Other
15 Orionis · Uranus-crosser asteroid · In fiction

Images for kids

  • Ariel Earth Moon Comparison

    Size comparison of Earth, the Moon, and Ariel.

  • the bottom hemisphere of Ariel is seen, reddish and dark, with cracks and craters lining the edge

    The highest-resolution Voyager 2 color image of Ariel. Canyons with floors covered by smooth plains are visible at lower right. The bright crater Laica is at lower left.

  • dark, angular features cut by smooth ravines into triangles, cast into high contrast by sunlight

    Graben (chasmata) near Ariel's terminator. Their floors are covered by smooth material, possibly extruded from beneath via cryovolcanism. Several are cut by sinuous central grooves, e.g. Sprite and Leprechaun valles above and below the triangular horst near the bottom.

  • a patch of observed surface is lit in light blue, against a blank disc representing the moon's entire diameter

    False-color map of Ariel. The prominent noncircular crater below and left of center is Yangoor. Part of it was erased during formation of ridged terrain via extensional tectonics.

  • the planet Uranus is seen through the Hubble telescope, its atmosphere defined by bands of electric blue and green. Ariel appears as a white dot floating above it, casting a dark shadow below

    HST image of Ariel transiting Uranus, complete with shadow

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