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Uranus's irregular moons have elliptical and strongly inclined (mostly retrograde) orbits at large distances from the planet. [3] William Herschel discovered the first two moons, Titania and Oberon, in 1787. The other three ellipsoidal moons were discovered in 1851 by William Lassell (Ariel and Umbriel) and in 1948 by Gerard Kuiper . [1]
Titania was discovered by William Herschel on January 11, 1787, the same day he discovered Uranus's second largest moon, Oberon. [1] [11] He later reported the discoveries of four more satellites, [12] although they were subsequently revealed as spurious. [13]
In his later career, Herschel discovered two moons of Saturn, Mimas [72] and Enceladus; [73] as well as two moons of Uranus, Titania and Oberon. [85] He did not give these moons their names; they were named by his son John in 1847 and 1852, respectively, after his death.
The names of all four satellites of Uranus then known were suggested by Herschel's son John in 1852, at the request of William Lassell, [17] who had discovered the other two moons, Ariel and Umbriel, the year before. [18] It is uncertain if Herschel devised the names, or if Lassell did so and then sought Herschel's permission. [19]
Uranus's 28 natural satellites include 18 known regular moons, of which 13 are small inner moons. Further out are the larger five major moons of the planet: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. Orbiting at a much greater distance from Uranus are the ten known irregular moons.
He named seven moons of Saturn and four moons of Uranus – the seventh planet, discovered by his father Sir William Herschel. He made many contributions to the science of photography, and investigated colour blindness and the chemical power of ultraviolet rays.
Ariel is the fourth-largest moon of Uranus. Ariel orbits and rotates in the equatorial plane of Uranus, which is almost perpendicular to the orbit of Uranus, so the moon has an extreme seasonal cycle. It was discovered on 24 October 1851 [11] by William Lassell and named for a character in
Umbriel, along with another Uranian satellite, Ariel, was discovered by William Lassell on October 24, 1851. [10] [11] [12] Although William Herschel, the discoverer of Titania and Oberon, claimed at the end of the 18th century that he had observed four additional moons of Uranus, [13] his observations were not confirmed and those four objects are now thought to be spurious.