Highest resolution Voyager 2 image of Ariel from 170,000 kilometres.

ARIEL - MOON OF URANUS

Ariel is named after a sprite, a type of fairy, in Shakespeare's play "The Tempest". Features on Ariel are named after good or benevolent spirits from various world mythologies.

Ariel is one of Uranus' five larger satellites. It was discovered in 1851 by the British astronomer William Lassell.

Orbit

Ariel orbits Uranus at a distance of 191,000 kilometres, in an orbit that is very nearly circular (eccentricity only 0.0034) and very nearly in the plane of Uranus' equator.

Ariel exhibits synchronous rotation - it rotates on its axis in 2.52 days, the same time it takes to complete one orbit of Uranus. The day on Ariel is the same length as Ariel's year.

The orbits of Uranus' larger moons.

Physical properties

Ariel is 1,160 kilometres across, and has a density of 1670 kg m-3 . Ariel is Uranus' fourth largest moon.

Comparison between Ariel and our Moon.

Interior

Ariel's density implies that the moon consists mostly of water ice with some rock. There may be a small amount of frozen methane. Very little is known of Ariel's composition or interior.

Magnetic field

No magnetic field has been detected.

Atmosphere

Ariel does not possess an atmosphere, which is not surprising considering Ariel's low mass and low escape velocity.

Surface

Voyager 2 arrived at Ariel in 1986 and revealed a surface criss-crossed by faults and valley systems. Good pictures were obtained, but unfortunately covering only 35% of the surface.

Korrigan Chasma and Sylph Chasma, both over 300 kilometres long.