Uranus moons seen overtaking each other for first time

newscientist.com ^ | 5-18-2007 | Kelly Young

[bedolido]

For the first time, astronomers have glimpsed one of Uranus's 27 moons passing in front of one of its siblings – a fleeting alignment that can reveal information about the moons, such as their mass, that cannot be gleaned in any other way.

Researchers hope this will be the first in a bonanza of data returned from Uranus in the next year. That is because Uranus, which orbits the Sun every 84 years, is in an ideal geometry to view its moons. Such periods come around only once every 42 years, and the next will not occur until 2049.

This series of pictures illustrates how Uranus's moon Oberon passed in front of the moon Umbriel on 4 May. The gray areas are surfaces that have not yet been mapped. The southern portions were mapped by Voyager 2 in 1986 (Images: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

[SunkenCiv]

Posting articles on Uranus only brings out the kindergarten crowd

You say that like it's a *bad* thing...

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, I loved the subtle nature of the idea. ;’)

[SamAdams76]

I went to see the photos but they told me I had to be 18 to enter. Ever since, I got this screen saver that I can’t get rid of.