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Ariel

Ariel

1 8.6
A moon of Uranus with a bright icy surface and deep valleys
  • proper noun
translation icon : Ariel
  • The moon Ariel orbits Uranus and was discovered in 1851.
  • Uranus' moon Ariel
  • the moon Ariel

Examples

  • Ninety percent of Ariel remained absolutely uninhabitable, smothered by a thick, untamed atmosphere.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Their cliffs plunged downward, disappearing into the cloud plain covering Ariel's super-heated surface.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Ariel's biosphere is expanding; the surface will someday be habitable, and settlers already have the votes to elect any government they want.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Shaped like a huge squat pagoda, the port sat atop a giant aerostat, a relic from days when only Ariel's uppermost atmosphere was habitable.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Surface features on Ariel include many craters and large canyons.

  • Scientists study Ariel to learn more about its geological history as a moon of Uranus.

Surface Forms

Ariel main

Etymology

Ariel the moon was named after Shakespeare's spirit in 'The Tempest'. That character's name comes from the Hebrew Ari'el, from ari 'lion' and el 'God', and it also sounds like 'aerial' or 'air', which is why the moon's name suggests a bright, airy world.