Uranus has 27 moons, all of which are named after characters from the works of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. The five main satellites, in order of proximity to Uranus, are Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. Before the Voyager 2 studied Uranus in 1986, these five moons were the only ones known to exist.
Miranda (a character in The Tempest by Shakespeare) has a surface unlike any other in the solar system. One theory for the jumbled appearance is that the moon has shattered and reformed up to five times, creating a surface of both young and old material. Another explanation involves the upwelling of partially melted ices.
Science On a Sphere
