Ariel (moon of Uranus)

Ariel is one of Uranus’s 27 known moons, named after a character from Shakespeare’s plays. It is relatively bright and icy, with a diameter of about 1,150 kilometers. Ariel has a layered surface marked by extensive craters, valleys, and tectonic ridges, suggesting a history of geological activity. Its surface features indicate it may have once had internal heating that caused ice to move and create these formations. Ariel orbits close to Uranus, completing a revolution every 2.5 days, and is primarily composed of water ice mixed with rock. It offers insights into the icy moon formations and the history of the Uranus system.