Posted on 12/24/2005 7:02:26 PM PST by neverdem
Telescope confirms likelihood of lunar collisions in 500,000 years
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope say they have discovered two tiny new moons and two faint new rings spinning around the planet Uranus. The finds bring the current tallies for the remote blue world to more than two dozen moons and 13 rings.
The scientists said Hubble images have also confirmed instabilities in the Uranian system that could eventually lead to lunar collisions.
"The destruction and accumulation of moons and rings is very exciting," said Jack Lissauer of the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Mountain View, a principal investigator on the project. "It's showing how this system is very rapidly evolving and showing that the processes which led to the formation of the planets (are) still ongoing today."
Following scientific tradition, the discoverers named the two new moons after Shakespearean characters. One is Mab, the fairy queen in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The other is Cupid, the Roman god of love, who appears in one of the bard's lesser-known plays, "Timon of Athens."
Since many of Uranus' other moons were named for the likes of Juliet, Portia, Desdemona and Bianca, "we liked the idea of tiny Cupid orbiting among Shakespeare's greatest lovers," said the new moons' co-discoverer, Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View.
Uranus is the third-largest planet and the seventh from the sun. About 32,000 miles in diameter, it orbits 1.78 billion miles from the solar system's center, between the orbits of Saturn and Neptune.
It was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel, who named it Georgium Sidus (Georgian Planet) after Britain's King George III. The name Uranus, after an early Greek god of the heavens, didn't come into routine use until 1850.
The planet's five largest moons were discovered by Herschel and...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
That made me laugh so hard one son came in from another room to see what was so funny. Now to get the hot chocolate off the keyboard before it dries.
"Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines."
"Mr. President we can not allow a Doomsday Gap!"
Many scientists and academics actually pronounce the name of the planet as 'your-UN-ess.' This reflects more accurately the original Greek pronunciation, even if it's not a double entendre in English.
Slight oversight: stress should be on the 'YOUR'. YOUR-un-ess.
Glad I made you happy!
Garry Owen! Merry Christmas 7th Cav!
I ca see a Brokeback Uranus movie in the works from this.
Merry Christmas!
Scientists just discovered this and right off the bat it is considered a process of evolution. What jokesters.
I just came here for the jokes. You didn't disappoint me!
LOL!!!!
Teaching Greek mythology to freshmen, we get that special "Uranus" laugh out in the open quickly. I give them the opportunity early on. After that, the kids just look around the room to see who's gonna' laugh next.
...as a mother-in-law, myself...
Merry Christmas.
You've got to be careful when Cupid is circling Uranus.
Then you get urine in it. The kids grab onto it, either way. I've tried!
I seem to have arrived at the party UNfashionably late.
:-( I missed it!
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