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Moons of Uranus Trivia Quiz

The moons of Uranus have been given the names of characters from the plays of Shakespeare and Pope, which adds to the quirkiness of this planet as it backstrokes its way around the sun.

A multiple-choice quiz by shooganooga. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
shooganooga

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
200,052

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
760

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This regal moon is the second largest to circle Uranus, and also features Hamlet as one of its craters. Hint

Oberon

Titania

Miranda

Ariel

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Question 2 of 10

2. This next moon also has a crater named after a character from a Shakespeare play. Gertrude is a multi-ringed crater that covers an area the size of southern England. What moon is home to Gertrude? Hint

Ganymede

Titan

Titania

Triton

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. In 1986 the NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 passed very close to Uranus. How many new moons were discovered around Uranus as a result of the images sent back by this craft? Hint

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Question 4 of 10

4. This moon is the brighter of the two that were discovered by William Lassell in 1851. Hint

Prospero

Sycorax

Caliban

Ariel

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Question 5 of 10

5. Our next moon is actually the darkest moon in the Uranus system. Which one is it? Hint

Stephano

Trinculo

Belinda

Umbriel

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Question 6 of 10

6. Discovered in 1948, this moon was considered the fifth choice for a near pass by Voyager. Given that there were only five moons known at the time, not a great confidence boost. However, due to the spacecraft needing to swing by Uranus to get slingshot to Neptune, fifth choice had to suffice. The images that were sent back revealed a remarkable moon with huge canyons across its surface, some up to 20 kilometres deep. Can you name this remarkable little moon? Hint

Juliet

Miranda

Portia

Bianca

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Question 7 of 10

7. All the many moons of Uranus are named after characters from the plays of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, but which play is represented the most amongst the moons? Hint

"The Tempest"

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"

"The Rape of the Lock"

"Hamlet"

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Polonius and Lear look on fondly as their daughters, the two inner most of Uranus' moons, act as shepherds for the planets epsilon ring. Can you name them? Hint

Rosalind and Juliet

Desdemona and Belinda

Bianca and Cressida

Ophelia and Cordelia

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. A small moon orbiting Uranus at faster than once a day (actually at about .8) I am also the name of a mischievous spirit in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Hint

Puck

Ariel

Cressida

Umbriel

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. This parent and child combination were discovered in 1997 and have been officially designated the first of Uranus' known irregular satellites. Hint

Sycorax and Caliban

Prospero and Miranda

Stephano and Trinculo

Oberon and Ariel

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This regal moon is the second largest to circle Uranus, and also features Hamlet as one of its craters.

Answer: Oberon

Oberon was the king of the fairies in the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Answer: Titania

Titania is the largest of Uranus' moons and was one of two discovered by William Herschel, Oberon being the other. Titania was queen of the fairies and the wife of Oberon in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Ganymede is the largest moon of Jupiter, and indeed the solar system. Titan is Saturn's largest satellite while Triton is the largest of neighbouring Neptune's moons.

3. In 1986 the NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 passed very close to Uranus. How many new moons were discovered around Uranus as a result of the images sent back by this craft?

Answer: 10

I deliberately left off 11 as an option for this question, because in 1999 a new satellite was discovered orbiting Uranus using the very same pictures taken by Voyager 2 13 years earlier. Although at the time of writing this has yet to be confirmed as an official moon of Uranus.

4. This moon is the brighter of the two that were discovered by William Lassell in 1851.

Answer: Ariel

Ariel is actually the brightest of all the moons circling Uranus, so it is surprising that it wasn't spotted by Herschel in 1787. Ariel was a mischievous sprite in "The Tempest". She was enslaved by the evil witch Sycorax for disobedience, but was rescued by the magician Prospero, who also capture the witches deformed son, Caliban, and made him his slave.

Interestingly, all of these characters have lent their names to moons orbiting Uranus.

5. Our next moon is actually the darkest moon in the Uranus system. Which one is it?

Answer: Umbriel

Unlike most of its counterparts, Umbriel's name was actually taken from "The Rape of the Lock", a poem written by Alexander Pope (though there was an Umbriel in "The Tempest" as well). Belinda, the only other moon not named after a Shakespearean character, was also taken from the same play.

Answer: Miranda

It is fairly ironic that Miranda, probably the purest and most beautiful character in all of Shakespeare's collection of works, should lend her name to the most deformed and, well basically ugly moon in the solar system. I wonder if they would have chosen another name had the images Voyager sent back been available at the time of its discovery.

7. All the many moons of Uranus are named after characters from the plays of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, but which play is represented the most amongst the moons?

Answer: "The Tempest"

"The Tempest" has lent names to 8 moons at the time of writing (Miranda, Ariel, Caliban, Stephano, Sycorax, Prospero, Setebos, and Trinculo). "A Midsummer Night's Dream" has 3, ( Oberon, Titania and Puck) and "The Rape of the Lock" has 2 (Umbriel and Belinda) All the other plays have 1.

8. Polonius and Lear look on fondly as their daughters, the two inner most of Uranus' moons, act as shepherds for the planets epsilon ring. Can you name them?

Answer: Ophelia and Cordelia

Cordelia was the daughter of King Lear in the play of the same name, whilst Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius and the fianc� of the title character in "Hamlet".

9. A small moon orbiting Uranus at faster than once a day (actually at about .8) I am also the name of a mischievous spirit in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Answer: Puck

Puck was the first of the 10 moons to be discovered by Voyager 2 as it circled Uranus and was the only one to be discovered in time to allow an adjustment of the spacecraft's flight path to get a closer look.

10. This parent and child combination were discovered in 1997 and have been officially designated the first of Uranus' known irregular satellites.

Answer: Sycorax and Caliban

Irregular satellites are though to be have been captured by the planet's gravitational pull. They are characterised by their retrograde and/or irregular shaped orbits. All the other gas giants are known to have irregular satellites in their systems.

Source: Author shooganooga

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
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