titania

titania
/tuy tay"nee euh/, n.
synthetic rutile, TiO2, used as a gem.
[1920-25; < NL; see TITANIUM, -A4]

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 largest of the moons of Uranus. It was first detected telescopically in 1787 by the English astronomer William Herschel (Herschel, Sir William), who had discovered Uranus itself six years earlier. Titania was named by William's son, John Herschel (Herschel, Sir John, 1st Baronet), for a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream.

       Moons of UranusTitania orbits at a mean distance of 435,840 km (270,820 miles) from the centre of Uranus, which makes it the second outermost of the planet's major moons. Its orbital period is 8.706 days, as is its rotational period. It is thus in synchronous rotation, keeping the same face toward the planet and the same face forward in its orbit. Its diameter is 1,578 km (980 miles), and it has a density of about 1.71 grams per cubic cm. Titania appears to be composed of equal parts water ice and rocky material; a small amount of frozen methane is probably present as well. (For comparative data about Titania and other Uranian satellites, see the table (Moons of Uranus).)

      Titania was observed close up on only one occasion, when the U.S. Voyager 2 spacecraft swiftly flew through the Uranian system in 1986. Spacecraft images show its surface to have many bright impact craters up to 50 km (30 miles) in diameter, but few large ones, along with trenches and a deep fault line extending roughly 1,600 km (1,000 miles). These and other related features strongly suggest the occurrence of internal geologic processes in the moon's ancient past.

Andrew P. Ingersoll
 

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Titania — was the name of a character in William Shakespeare s play A Midsummer Night s Dream . In Shakespeare s play, she is the queen of the fairies. Due to Shakespeare s influence, later fiction has often used the name Titania for fairy queen characters …   Wikipedia

  • Titania — es: Titania, la reina de las Hadas en las leyendas medievales y en la obra de teatro de William Shakespeare s El sueño de una noche de verano., donde es la esposa de Oberón . El mayor de los satélites naturales de Urano. Ver: Titania. (593)… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Titania — steht für Titania (Mond), ein Mond des Planeten Uranus (593) Titania, ein Hauptgürtelasteroid Titania (Elfenkönigin), eine Figur in Shakespeares Sommernachtstraum Titania Therme, ein Freizeitbad bei Augsburg Titania Palast, ein Kino in Berlin… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Titania — es: 1. La reina de las Hadas en las leyendas medievales y en la obra de teatro de William Shakespeare s El sueño de una noche de verano. Titania es la esposa de Oberon. 2. El mayor de los satélites naturales de Urano. Ver: Titania. 3. 593 Titania …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Titania — Titania. Ihr Elfen, auf den Höhn Ihr Elfen, an den Seen, Zum Thau beperlten Grün Folgt Eurer Königin! Im silbergrauen Spinnwebkranz Umflimmert von des Glühwurm s Glanz, Herbei! herbei! zum Mondscheintanz! So ruft T., die Elfenkönigin, Oberon s (s …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • Titanĭa [1] — Titanĭa, die Königin der Elfen, Gemahlin des Oberon, s.d …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Titanĭa [2] — Titanĭa (T. Endl.), Pflanzengattung aus der Familie Orchideae Malaxideae; Art: T. miniata, auf der Norfolksinsel …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Titanĭa [1] — Titanĭa, 1) die Titanide, Tochter oder Enkelin eines Titanen (s. d.), Beiname von Göttinnen und Heroinen bei Ovid; 2) bei Shakespeare die Elfenkönigin, Gemahlin des Oberon …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Titanĭa [2] — Titanĭa, der dritte Uranusmond (s. Uranus) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Titania — Titanĭa, Elfenkönigin, Gemahlin des Oberon …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Titania — [ti tā′nē ə, tītā′nē ə] n. Eng. Folklore the queen of fairyland and wife of Oberon …   English World dictionary

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