Oberon (moon) - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Image of Oberon obtained by Voyager 2 in 1986

Oberon is the farthest big moon of the planet Uranus. It is made of about half ice and half rock.[1] With a mean radius of about 760 km, Oberon is the second biggest moon of Uranus's 27 moons. It orbits Uranus about every 13.4 days.[2]

It was found on January 11, 1787 by William Herschel,[3] in the same year he found Titania. It was named after a Oberon, King of the Fairies, a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Oberon has several large impact craters where it has been hit by meteorites. These were photographed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986 as it flew passed.[2] Scientists also believe there is a mountain that could be 20 km (12 mi) high on the moon.[4]

Surface features[change | change source]

Craters on Oberon are named after characters in the plays of William Shakespeare.[5]

Named surface features on Oberon[6]
Feature Named after Type Length (diameter), km Coordinates
Mommur Chasma Mommur, from French folklore Chasma 537 16°18′S 323°30′E / 16.3°S 323.5°E / -16.3; 323.5
Antony Mark Antony Crater 47 27°30′S 65°24′E / 27.5°S 65.4°E / -27.5; 65.4
Caesar Julius Caesar 76 26°36′S 61°06′E / 26.6°S 61.1°E / -26.6; 61.1
Coriolanus Coriolanus 120 11°24′S 345°12′E / 11.4°S 345.2°E / -11.4; 345.2
Falstaff Falstaff 124 22°06′S 19°00′E / 22.1°S 19.0°E / -22.1; 19.0
Hamlet Hamlet 206 46°06′S 44°24′E / 46.1°S 44.4°E / -46.1; 44.4
Lear King Lear 126 5°24′S 31°30′E / 5.4°S 31.5°E / -5.4; 31.5
MacBeth Macbeth 203 58°24′S 112°30′E / 58.4°S 112.5°E / -58.4; 112.5
Othello Othello 114 66°00′S 42°54′E / 66.0°S 42.9°E / -66.0; 42.9
Romeo Romeo 159 28°42′S 89°24′E / 28.7°S 89.4°E / -28.7; 89.4

Other websites[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "APOD: April 8, 1996 - Uranus's Moon Oberon: Impact World". apod.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hamilton, Calvin. "Oberon, A Moon Of Uranus". www.solarviews.com. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  3. ↑ "Solar System Exploration: Planets: Comparison Chart". solarsystem.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  4. ↑ "Uranus' Moon Oberon - Explore the Cosmos". The Planetary Society. Archived from the original on 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  5. ↑ Strobell, M. E.; Masursky, H. (March 1987). "New Features Named on the Moon and Uranian Satellites". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 18: 964–965. Bibcode:1987LPI....18..964S.
  6. ↑ "Oberon Nomenclature Table Of Contents". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
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