Astronomy Chapter 13 Vocab- "Uranus and Neptune"

Uranus

the first planet to be discovered with a telescope; was originally named Georgium Sidus (George’s Star) after King George III

William Herschel

an astronomer who discovered Uranus in 1781

Neptune

the planet that was discovered in 1846 after the analysis of Uranus’s orbit indicated its presence

Uranus’s Physical Properties

• Mass is 14.5 times greater than Earth’s

• Radius is 4 times greater than Earth’s

Neptune’s Physical Properties

• Mass is 17.1 times greater than Earth’s

• Radius is 3.9 times greater than Earth’s

Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon

the five major moons out of the 27 moons on Uranus

Triton

a moon on Neptune that is in retrograde orbit; has a few craters, ice volcanoes, and nitrogen geysers on the surface

Nereid

a moon on Neptune whose orbit is highly eccentric

shepherd moons

the two moons that keep the epsilon ring on Uranus from diffusing