Among all the Uranus moons, Titania is the most popular.Uranus has 27 moons, and Titania is the largest among them. Its interesting composition and the fact that it is composed mainly of ice make this a famously celestial body that astronomers are trying to unearth.Uranus, the seventh planet in the Solar System, has been an interesting topic of study on its own. Ever since it was first discovered in 1787, Titania, the Solar System’s eighth-largest moon, has been quite popular for numerous reasons. It is still smaller than the Earth and Earth’s moon. From being named after the queen of the fairies to being misunderstood in terms of its composition for a long time, the history of events connected to Titania span over two centuries. Primarily composed of carbon dioxide and named after a character from ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ this moon was better understood from the close-up shots that were possible due to Voyager 2 space probe that was sent in the year 1986. Filled initially with impact craters and later discovered to be composed of rocks and ice, this moon of Uranus, one of the Solar Systems gas giants, has plenty of interesting facts to ponder over.After learning these cool facts about the Titania moon, check out other interesting articles on facts about Nix (moon) and Mimas moon.Titania Moon DiscoveryBecause of its distance from the Sun, the planet of Uranus had remained undiscovered for a long time. In 1781, astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus, the planet that he initially thought was an ‘icy mass.’ He is also the astronomer behind the discovery of two of Uranus’s moons and some of the major moons of Saturn.Nearly six years after Uranus was spotted for the first time, Titania was discovered by William Herschel. It is among the five major moons of Uranus, popularly known for its unique surface. It is not as radiant as the bright moons of Uranus like Miranda and Ariel. It is also not among the dark moons as it has a subtle radiance that was partly a reason for its early discovery.Uranus is around 1.78 billion mi (2.87 billion km) away from the Sun, and Titania is around 270917.8 mi (436,000 km) away from the planet itself, making it the second farthest moon on this planet.William Herschel also discovered Oberon, another of the Uranus satellites, on the very same day he spotted Titania. This moon is relatively smaller than Titania. Though they did not have these names back then, they continued to be a puzzle in astronomy for almost five decades since any other telescope around the world did not spot them.Titania Moon Surface FeaturesThe icy mantle of this Uranus moon is one of its most intriguing features. The moon’s surface is also known to be predominantly rocky. Initially, it was heavily cratered, but several events resulted in a changed surface.Callisto is a popular Jovian moon known for its carbon dioxide content on the surface. Later, after being studied extensively, Titania was also found to have carbon dioxide in its atmosphere. This planet, named after the queen of fairies, also contains traces of other gases like methane and nitrogen. However, Titania’s weak gravity is cited as the main reason its atmosphere does not have a rigid composition. Most gases disperse off quickly, and there is always a loose mix of these common gases.Another observation is that the atmosphere here is constantly changing. This is because of the extreme seasons existing on Uranus moons. As a result, extreme temperature changes cause these gases to move to the opposite pole as the heat on the surface increases. The current composition of carbon dioxide in this planet is believed to be only a small portion of what was initially there as most of it was dispersed off into space.Titania’s moon surface features were better observed from the images captured by Voyager 2, and it was found to be filled with faults predominantly and several canyons as well. The most popular among them is near the South Pole, Messina Chasma.There were once several impact craters on this moon. Still, later, an event of endogenic resurfacing resulted in a majority of the impact craters on this Uranus moon even out. Gertrude is currently among the largest known crater of this moon. Titania’s craters range from a few kilometers to 202.5 mi (326 km) in diameter.While we only knew about the rocks and craters on this moon, there was a near-accurate infrared image that astronomers were able to capture recently, between 2001-2005. These discoveries revealed crystalline water ice on the surface. Based on these observations from the infrared telescope, it was found that the other surface elements on Titania range from ice to other non-ice solids.Not much is known about the core of this moon, but some believe that the core is composed of a liquid ocean layer. The surface features on Titania are not supportive of life, but if the theory of the liquid ocean layer is true, life could be possible close to the core in a small section. However, considering the gaseous composition of the surface and the lack of oxygen, it is highly unlikely that it would be suitable for humans to live.Titania Moon NamingThe name of this moon has a history as interesting as the history of the moon’s discovery itself. In the play, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare, a very popular character goes by the name Titania, and in this play, she is the queen of the fairies.This moon of Uranus did not always have this name. When it was first discovered, it was called the ‘first satellite of Uranus’ because it was the first moon of this planet to be found. It also then got other names based on the order of discovery of Uranus major moons and then based on their orbits. So, it first had the name ‘Uranus I’ as it was the first one to be discovered, and then because of the position of Titania’s orbit, it was also called ‘Uranus III.‘Later, William Lassel, the astronomer who has the credits for discovering the other moons of Uranus, has asked William Herschel’s son to name them. And it was John Herschel who picked these interesting names, including the name Titania, after the Shakespearean character.Titania Moon Orbital Period And Surface PressureBesides the moon’s formation, its orbit is also quite interesting. Uranus orbits around the Sun in orbit almost perpendicular to its equator. The moon’s orbit is also the intriguing reason that its northern and southern poles receive a higher exposure to solar radiation than Titania’s surface and the equatorial region. The ice on Titania’s surface is partly because the surface does not get enough sunlight and because it is in the outer solar system.This moon’s orbit is around 209 hours. One other interesting observation is that because of the positions of Uranus’s equator and that of Titania, its rotational period and revolution period are both the same. This also keeps one particular portion of the moon’s surface constantly in the direction of the planet.Also, this planet orbits the Sun on its side and its moons orbit in the planet’s equatorial plane. This results in an extreme seasonal cycle in Uranus moons, including Titania. This moon named after the queen of the fairies is enough proof that there is always something new to learn. The Solar System and its many mysteries continue to spark the curiosity of astronomers and stargazers around the world.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘Titania moon: facts about Uranus largest moon unwrapped for kids,’ then why not take a look at ‘where do comets come from? Curious Solar System fun facts for kids,’ or ‘where do diamonds come from? Curious gemstone facts to be aware of?’
Among all the Uranus moons, Titania is the most popular.
