William Herschel, the Discoverer
William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus in 1781. He initially thought that it was a comet and called it Georgium Sidus in honor of King George III of England. However, it soon became obvious that Georgium Sidus was actually a planet, and it eventually received the name Uranus.
Herschel also believed that he had discovered 6 moons of Uranus and one ring. At present, he is credited with the discovery of only two moons: Titania and Oberon. He discovered them in the year 1787. His claims concerning the ring are generally discounted, but some think that he may actually have seen it.
Radius of Oberon
It is not surprising that Titania and Oberon were the first Uranian satellites to be discovered. They are the two largest. According to NASA, the mean radius of Oberon is 761.4 km – slightly smaller than that of Titania.
Position of Oberon
Oberon is the outermost of the five largest moons of Uranus. In order of increasing distance from the mother planet, these five moons are Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon.
As Oberon revolves around Uranus, its closest approach to the center of the mother planet is 582,683 km. It never is farther from the center of Uranus than 584,317 km, according to NASA. This means that its orbit is not very eccentric.
As far as is currently known, Oberon has no near neighbor on the outer side of its orbit. The closest is a small moon named Francisco, which is more than 4 million kilometers from the center of Saturn.
Movements of Oberon
Oberon moves quickly around Uranus. It completes a revolution in a little more than 13 days.
However, it rotates slowly on its axis. It completes a rotation in a little more than 13 days. If it were possible for people to live on the planet Uranus, they would always see the same side of this satellite, just as we always see the same side of our Moon.
Surface Features
Scientists think that Oberon is made of ice and rock. However, in spite of the ice component, its surface is relatively dark.
There are many craters on the surface of Oberon. There are also canyons called chasmata on the surface of the Satellite. Some of these surface features have received official names.
Names
The satellite Oberon is named after the king of the fairies in a work by William Shakespeare entitled “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Of those craters which have received official names, the largest is called Hamlet Crater. MacBeth Crater is second largest, and Romeo Crater is third. Hamlet Crater has a diameter of 206 km; the diameter of MacBeth Crater is 203 km; the diameter of Romeo Crater is 159 km. This data comes from the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union.
These and other craters of Oberon are named after famous characters in the plays of William Shakespeare. Since Oberon is king of the fairies, the craters of Oberon have the names of men in Shakespeare’s plays. The craters on nearby Titania are named after female characters in Shakespeare because Titania was queen of the fairies.
Other craters on Oberon have the names Antony Crater, Caesar Crater, Coriolanus Crater, Falstaff Crater, Lear Crater, and Othello Crater.
Besides craters, Mommur Chasma is the only physical feature that has received an official name. Mommur is an imaginary forest. It is the realm of Oberon in a Medieval epic entitled “Huon of Bordeaux.” Oberon is also king in an imaginary forest in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” but Shakespeare does not apply any name to this forest.
References
Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Target – Oberon
http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/SearchResults?target=OBERON
NASA: Oberon Facts and Figures
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Ura_Oberon&Display=Facts
Wikipedia: Oberon (Moon)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberon_(moon)
Cosmic Gaming: Roland and French Paladins
http://cosmicgaming.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=miscellaneous&thread=764&page=1