A Scientist for a Day
Uranus, a planet 2.9 billion kilometers from the Sun, counts with a number of 27 known moons, but Ariel, the youngest and sprightly moon, is particularly intriguing because of its unique surface, composition, and orbit; besides, its story has not yet been unveiled.
The Uranian magnetosphere affects all moons close and Ariel as well, despite it is about 190,900 km away, where it strikes its trailing hemisphere; as a result, this phenomenon lets one of them in the dark. When Voyage 2 “encountered” Uranus’ system, it only photographed 35% of its Southern Hemisphere, leaving the Northern unstudied and unknown. The wonders of the magnetosphere also affect its formation and composition. The satellite’s amount of possible ice seems to exceed the other hemispheres, but its temperature may help to melt it in its core. Ariel contains large layers of rock that would be produced through radioactive elements, just a supposition, but raises the question about possibly undercovering an underground ocean, beneath Ariel’s surface.
The reasons abound, Ariel is a moon that due to its mountain ranges, landscapes (caused by recent geological activity) and because of the little sighting of its surface deserves to be investigated further and thoroughly.
The existence of CO2 on this moon has different explanations, one of them being past geological activity. By sending a probe, we would understand the presence of CO2 and the geological activity’s effects on Ariel’s components and surface.
Even though the chances of life in this satellite are exceptionally low, there are still multiple mysteries surrounding this moon. Ariel contains outstanding physical characteristics in comparison to other moons, and the phenomena that may have happened remain a simple theory.
By Natalia Pérez Samudio and
Iván Melo Henríquez,
Step 8, American School
NASA Scientist For A Day
Feb. 8th, 2021
