On this night in science
Two new moons for Uranus
October 24, 1851
On this night in 1851, the English astronomer William Lassell found two moons circling the faraway planet Uranus, later named Ariel and Umbriel. Ariel has the brightest surface of Uranus's five biggest moons, and Umbriel has the darkest.
Why it mattered
Lassell was an amateur astronomer, which means stargazing wasn't his job. He still found moons no one had ever seen.
Wonder together
If you found a new moon, what would you name it?
Where this comes from