Planet Compare - NASA Solar System Exploration NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system
In Depth | Uranus Moons – NASA Solar System Exploration Centuries later, the moons of Uranus pay homage to the famous playwright While most satellites orbiting other planets take their names from ancient mythologies, Uranus' moons are unique in being named for Shakespearean characters, along with a couple of the moons being named for characters from the works of Alexander Pope
In Depth | Moons – NASA Solar System Exploration In the outer solar system, the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and the ice giants Uranus and Neptune have dozens of moons As these planets grew in the early solar system, they were able to capture smaller objects with their large gravitational fields How Moons Get Their Names Every moon discovered in the modern era gets a number first
In Depth | Our Solar System – NASA Solar System Exploration The planetary system we call home is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy Our solar system consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity – the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets such as Pluto; dozens of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids Beyond our own solar system, there
In Depth | Kuiper Belt – NASA Solar System Exploration In fact, even though its orbit crosses Neptune's orbit, Pluto gets physically closer to Uranus than it ever does to Neptune Kuiper Belt Moons and Binaries A fairly large number of KBOs either have moons – that is, significantly smaller bodies that orbit them – or are binary objects
RPS 3D Viewer - NASA Solar System Exploration NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system
In Depth | Oberon – NASA Solar System Exploration Overview Oberon is the second largest moon of Uranus Discovered in 1787, little was known about this moon until Voyager 2 passed it during its flyby of Uranus in January 1986 Oberon is heavily cratered―similar to Umbriel―especially when compared to three other moons of Uranus: Ariel, Titania and Miranda
In Depth | Miranda – NASA Solar System Exploration All of Uranus' larger moons, including Miranda, are thought to consist mostly of roughly equal amounts of water ice and silicate rock Unlike the other four main Uranian satellites, Miranda's orbit is slightly inclined Of the five Uranian moons known before Voyager 2 visited the planet, Miranda is the smallest and closest to the planet
Bibliography - NASA Solar System Exploration NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system