Planetary moons #13 : Titania
Like other gaseous giants of the Solar System, Uranus has an extensive system of moons. In fact, astronomers have now counted 27 satellites in this planet's orbit. Of these, none are larger in size, mass or surface than Titania. Let's take a closer look at this distant world.
Uranus moons system - photo montage
By NASA/JPL link [Public domain]
Titania was discovered by William Herschel on January 11, 1787, an English astronomer who discovered Uranus in 1781. The discovery was also made the same day he discovered Oberon, the second largest moon of Uranus. With a diameter of 1578 kilometers, Titania is Uranus' largest satellite and the eighth-largest moon in the solar system. Below is a comparison of its size to the Earth and our Moon. Circling around 436,000 kilometers, Titania is also the second outermost Uranus from the planet. The satellite circles Uranus in nearly 9 days, it also coincides with its trading period. This means that Titania is always one side facing towards your planet. Because Uranus circles the Sun as if it were rolling sideways, and its moons revolve around the equatorial plane, all are subject to an extreme seasonal cycle, where their poles are 42 years of total darkness or total sun exposure.
Size comparison of Earth, the Moon, and Titania
Created by Tom.Reding (Apollo 17 Picture of the Whole Earth: By NASA, Telescopic Image of the Full Moon: By Luc Viatour, Image of Titania: By NASA/JPL) link [Public domain images and CC BY-SA 3.0 license for moon image]
Scientists are convinced that Titania consists of rocks (which may contain carbon compounds and organic compounds) and ice. This is confirmed by studies that indicate that Titania has an extremely high density (1.71 kg / dm³). Infrared observations made in 2001-2005, revealed crystalline water ice on the surface of the moon. It is also believed that Titania may have a rocky core surrounded by an ice cloak. If this is true, it would mean that the nucleus radius is around 520 kilometers long, i.e. the nucleus is 66% of the moon's radius and 58% of its mass. As with the other major moons of Uranus, the current state of the ice coat is unknown. However, if the ice contains enough ammonia or other antifreeze, Titania may have a liquid oceanic layer at the border between the nucleus and the mantle. The depth of this ocean, if it exists, is up to 50 kilometers. There are craters and faults on the surface of the moon. Titania craters range in diameter from a few kilometers to 325 kilometers - in the case of the largest known crater - Gertrude. The surface of Titania also crosses the system of huge canyons.
Titania on January 24th, 1986 in monochrome
By Kevin Gill from Nashua, NH, United States link [CC BY-SA 2.0 license]
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Because of the huge distance, the only photos of this satellite were provided by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, which photographed the moon during a flight near Uran in January 1986. The flight of the probe coincided with the summer solstice in the southern hemisphere, when almost the entire northern hemisphere was unlit. As with the other major moons of Uranus, this made it impossible to reproduce their entire surface. No other spaceship has visited the Uranian system. In the years to come, you can only hope that NASA or other space agencies will decide that another mission similar to Voyager is needed. Until then, Uranus and many of its moons will remain a mystery to us.
Greetings to lovers of Astronomy!
References:
It turns out that a 42-year-old fate will come to this by changing the attitude of the hemisphere to see the sun. Home changer every 42 years.
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