Umbriel

Umbriel, moon

Umbriel is a moon of Uranus discovered on October 24, 1851, by William Lassell. It was discovered at the same time as Ariel and named after a character in Alexander Pope's poem The Rape of the Lock. Umbriel consists mainly of ice with a substantial fraction of rock, and may be differentiated into a rocky core and an icy mantle. The surface is the darkest among Uranian moons, and appears to have been shaped primarily by impacts. However, the presence of canyons suggests early endogenic processes, and the moon may have undergone an early endogenically driven resurfacing event that obliterated its older surface.

Covered by numerous impact craters reaching 210 km (130 mi) in diameter, Umbriel is the second most heavily cratered satellite of Uranus after Oberon. The most prominent surface feature is a ring of bright material on the floor of Wunda crater. This moon, like all moons of Uranus, probably formed from an accretion disk that surrounded the planet just after its formation.

Umbriel, along with another Uranian satellite, Ariel, was discovered by William Lassell on October 24, 1851. Although William Herschel, the discoverer of Titania and Oberon, claimed at the end of the 18th century that he had observed four additional moons of Uranus, his observations were not confirmed and those four objects are now thought to be spurious.

All of Uranus's moons are named after characters created by William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope. The names of all four satellites of Uranus then known were suggested by John Herschel in 1852 at the request of Lassell.Umbriel is the 'dusky melancholy sprite' in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock, and the name suggests the Latin umbra, meaning shadow. The moon is also designated Uranus II.



History & Community


Umbriel was surveyed as early as 2120 but the first colonists did not arrive until 2200, by then colonizing moons and planetoids had become a well developed routine.

The first settlement Pope town was not just a collection of pressurized buildings or occupied mine shafts but was laid out from the ground up as a well planned city. While Ice minig was a big part of the industry from the start, diverse so called Dirty industries came along almost right away. Chief among them Bio Solid processing, rendering, fertilizer production, animal feed production. But also Ice cave farming and plankton production added to the diverse employment oportunities.

The age old joke : “What have Umbriel Colonists and toilet paper in common?” They circle around “your Anus” and work with poop.”is not very well received on Umbriel and they usually answer :”Pekunia non Olet ” Money doesn't stink.

Annual fertilizer exports in the region of 20-30 Billion credits shows that they are right.

Umbriel is not independently represented and belong to the Uranus Moon Association.

 Main Exports : Food grade Plankton, Feritlizers, Processed Bio Solid fertilizers, Animal Feed, High yield Compost. Soap, animal fats and gelatine, Leathers, felt, Fish food

 Main Imports : Bio Solids, Dead animals, hides, skin, manure, hair, pelts, soil. Groceries, Tech