The previous parts can be read here: Part 1 (Mercury) - Part 2 (Venus) -Part 3 (Mars) - Part 4 (The Asteroid Belt) - Part 5 (Jupiter) - Part 6 (Jovian Moons) - Part 7 (Saturn) - Part 8 (The Moons Of Saturn) - Part 9 (Uranus)
The trolls' rocket was heading to Neptune, but as they were leaving the planet behind, they were discussing facts about the satellites of Uranus. X31 and T-800 were enjoying the discussion, but X54, the little troll, was a bit bored. He was relaxing with some music on his mp4, while X42 was listening to the conversation on the moons of Uranus.
- Why didn't we stay longer on Uranus? X42 asked. I mean, I know we could not land there, but we could have stayed to watch the moons like we did with Jupiter and Saturn.
- Most of them are too small, some are probably former asteroids that got captured by the planet's gravitational field, X31 explained. There is no need to stall our journey. After all, we can tell you all the cool facts on our way to Neptune.
- Yes, T-800 said. Here, I can project a hologram simulation from my belly.
- And why haven't you done so already?! X42 was amazed.
- Because you never asked, T-800 replied and immediately started the hologram function. Look, Uranus has moons named after Shakespeare's characters like, Oberon and Titania and Puck.
- Ah! From the "Midsummer Night's Dream", isn't it?
- Correct, X42! And X31 went on, some are named after Shakespeare's characters and other after Alexander Pope's. Now, as I said most satellites are small and dark. But some of them are really cool!
- Did I catch the word cool? And how is T-800 doing this? We had a 3D home cinema all along and you never told us? Pfff! What are you guys talking about? X54 seemed intrigued and quit listening to his music.
- Come here, we're talking about the moons of Uranus, T-800 invited him over. The planet has 27 known moons, the inner ones are comprised from water ice and rock, whereas the outer ones' composition is still unknown. These are probably asteroids.
- I prefer the scientific term "dirty ice balls" better, X31 giggled.
- Haha! You're right, T-800 laughed back. The biggest dirty ice ball orbiting Uranus is Titania. A moon decorated with rifts, faults and valleys, Titania must be relatively young. Material is ejected from the craters, probably from impacts with other bodies. The rift valleys must be made by plates moving.
- You mean, tectonic plates, just like Earth? X54 was surprised.
- It could be, T-800 continued. Titania must have been geologically active, the faults along her surface tell us that. Moreover, the moon's surface probably cooled down quicker than the interior and that's why the moon has such a variform landscape today.
- Being so far from the Sun, one cannot wonder why that happened, X42 noted.
- This is right, X31 seemed to agree. Her "husband" Oberon is just like Titania, only a bit smaller. But Oberon is a lot more mysterious!
- Come on! Come on, tell us more! X54 was excited to learn about Oberon.
- Oberon has more bigger craters than Titania and they are covered in a weird substance that scientists believe to be dirty water from the satellite's interior, which got spewed out upon an impact.
- Umbriel is the third larger moon, X31 said.
- And the darkest of all, T-800 added.
- But it has a very bright crater that may have been covered in material from the interior of the moon, which was brought to surface after a past impact, X31 went on.
- The brightest moon, on the other hand is Ariel, T-800 said. Ariel has some very long and deep rift valleys that imply a very "turbulant" past. The bottoms seem to be very smooth, they were maybe eroded by liquid, not water, probably liquid ammonia, methane or carbon monoxide, that in such freezing temperatures it got so tough that managed to scrap the surface of the satellite off.
- And getting closer to Uranus, we find Miranda, the fifth among the biggest moons, X31 picked up. Miranda is a unique collage of pieces that don't seem to match. It has deep canyons, faults and rifts. But the most wonderful sight on Miranda is the "chevron".
- That sounds like a french delicassy, X54 said.
- Only it has nothing to do with food, X31 replied. The "chevron" is basically a huge V shape made of dark and light groves on the surface of the moon.
- Yes, check this holographic depiction, T-800 said.
- Amazing! X54 said.
- And what's that big rift? X42 asked.
- This is the deepest canyon of the satellite, it must measure 5 kilometers in depth making it even deeper than the Grand Canyon, T-800 replied.
- Amazing once again! X54 said.
- And another equally amazing fact is that between Miranda and the rest of the big moons there are eight smaller moons that act like sepherds, X31 said.
- Sepherds? Are there any herds of cows and goats around Uranus? X54 was confused.
- No, silly! X31 was trying not to laugh. Sepherd moons mean that they keep the materials of the rings in place through their gravitational interaction.
- And it still remains a mystery how those bodies still haven't crashed into one another, T-800 added. Although one moon, Cressida that doesn't have a circular but a triangular orbit, will probably crash into Desdemona in the future.
- Poor moons, now I feel bad about them, X54 sounded sad.
- Well, that's the beauty of our universe, X54. Celestial bodies are created and destroyed. Without debris there can be no building material. If there is no death there can be no life, wise X31 tried to explain.
- Yes, but still it is sad, X54 insisted.
- It may be sad, but the view is spectacular. After all the universe is like Phoenix, the bird that resurrects from its ashes.
- This is really deep, X31 and so true, X42 said.
And just like that, the DIY rocket continued its way to Neptune with the trolls deviating from their scientific discussion and talking about more... philosophical topics.
To be continued...
References
solarsystem.nasa.gov
space.com
photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov
armaghplanet.com
newscientist.com
* Non-credited images and original story by @ruth-girl - Steemit, 2018
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