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The Shakespearean Moons of Uranus

This weekend marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, and we’re highlighting the moons of Uranus; some of which are named after characters from his works.

While most of the moons orbiting other planets take their names from Greek mythology, Uranus’ moons are unique in bing named for Shakespearean characters, along with a couple of them being named for characters from the works of Alexander Pope.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope and improved ground-based telescopes, astronomers have discovered a total of 27 known moons around Uranus.

Here’s a sampling of some of the unique aspects of the moons:

Miranda

Shakespearean work: The Tempest

Miranda, the innermost and smallest of the five major satellites, has a surface unlike any other moon that’s been seen. It has a giant fault canyon as much as 12 times as deep as the Grand Canyon, terraced layers and surfaces that appear very old, and others that look much younger.

Ariel

Shakespearean work: The Tempest

Ariel has the brightest and possibly the youngest surface among all the moons of Uranus. It has a few large craters and many small ones, indicating that fairly recent low-impact collisions wiped out the large craters that would have been left by much earlier, bigger strikes. Intersecting valleys pitted with craters scars its surface.

Oberon

Shakespearean work: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Oberon, the outermost of the five major moons, is old, heavily cratered and shows little signs of internal activity. Unidentified dark material appears on the floors of many of its craters.

Cordelia and Ophelia

Shakespearean works: Cordelia - King Lear; Ophelia - Hamlet

Cordelia and Ophelia are shepherd moons that keep Uranus’ thin, outermost “epsilon” ring well defined.

Between them and miranda is a swarm of eight small satellites unlike any other system of planetary moons. This region is so crowded that astronomers don’t yet understand how the little moons have managed to avoid crashing into each other. They may be shepherds for the planet’s 10 narrow rings, and scientists think there must be still more moons, interior to any known, to confine the edges of the inner rings.

Want to learn more about all of Uranus’s moons? Visit: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/uranus/moons

Check out THIS blog from our Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan, where she reflects on the life and legacy of William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death on April 23, 1616.

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'Let's lie very still and quiet and hold each other and not think at all.'

Ernest Hemingway, The Garden of Eden (via klytemnestre)

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This is so cute!!

i will not stop doing peace signs in photos until there is world peace

What’s Up for November?

November weather can be challenging for backyard astronomers, but the moon is a reliable target, even when there are clouds.

Did you know that the moon takes about 29 days to go around the Earth once? It also takes the moon about 29 days to spin on its axis. This causes the same side of the moon to always face Earth.

On Nov. 3, the moon reaches last quarter when it rises at midnight and sets at noon. This is a great time to see the moon in the morning sky.

On Nov. 11, the new moon isn’t visible, because it’s between Earth and the sun, and the unlit side faces Earth. In the days after the new moon, the slender crescent gets bigger and brighter. Look just after sunset on Nov. 13 and 14 near the setting sun in the western sky.

The next phase on Nov. 19 is called the first quarter, because the moon has traveled one quarter of its 29-day orbit around Earth. The moon rises at noon and sets at midnight, so you can see it in the afternoon sky. It will rise higher in the sky after dark. That’s when you can look for the areas where four of the six Apollo missions landed on the moon! You won’t see the landers, flag or footprints, but it’s fun and easy to see these historic places with your own eyes or with binoculars.

To see the area: Look for three dark, smooth maria, or seas. The middle one is the Sea of Tranquility. Apollo 11 landed very near a bright crater on the edge of this mare in 1969. The Apollo 15, 16 and 17 landing areas form the points of a triangle above and below the Apollo 11 site.

On Nov. 25, you can see the full moon phase, which occurs on the 14th day of the lunar cycle. The moon will rise at sunset and will be visible all night long, setting at sunrise.

On Thanksgiving (Nov. 26), the 15-day-old moon will rise an hour after sunset. You may even see some interesting features! And this is a great time to see the impact rays of some of the larger craters.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com 

fantasy

I catch myself staring a little too long. I can't help it that among a crowd of despicable teenage boys reeking of sweat and ignorance, there you sit, with your cunning smile and your green eyes that are forever fixed in an expression of mockery toward every absurdity in this high school. My mind cannot help but wander to the place where I am alone with you. With led zeppelin in the background, we laugh about all the mindless morons who are far behind us. We curse capitalism, we sigh, and our eyes lock.

I am about to tell you how relieved I am to have found someone to relate to, when you glance down at my chest, unashamedly letting your eyes roll up and down my body. I look down and silently chuckle. "I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable. I'm just amazed by your beautiful body that matches your beautiful mind." you say to me in a hoarse voice. I smile a great big smile. "Similar to the mind, the body is most appreciated when explored." I tell you as I take your hand in mine, slowly bringing it up to my chest. I inch closer to you on the bed, placing your hand on my breast. I look at you with a look of innocence and of desire. Your breathing becomes a bit shallow. I laugh, and lightly graze my fingers up your thigh, walking each finger back down. I run my hands over your thigh, nice and slow, watching your mouth open slightly and your leg twitch. You bite your lip. Your other hand is on my chest now, you are squeezing my breasts and beginning to unbutton my shirt. I run my hand over the bulge in your shorts, lingering there..you breathe in sharply and laugh nervously. I lean over, and whisper into your ear: "I want you to take control."

Immediately your hands are on my throat. I am lying down and you are kneeling over me, one hand exploring this sensitive newfound territory; my curves, my skin. You rub my inner thigh and I let out a small moan. You look at me, and you tease me, tickling my thighs some more. "You like that?" you ask me as your heart beats faster and harder, watching me squirm and sigh with delight. I nod. "Mm- uh huh," is what I manage to reply. You are running your hands up and down my legs, making me crazy.

You look at me, place your hand on my stomach, and slowly slide down until your face is between my legs. You pull my underwear to the side and put your mouth as close to me as you can. You breathe. The hot air makes me twitch. You stay like this for what feels like forever until you finally decide to flick your tongue against my pussy. You flick up and down, up and down. "Ooh, just like that. Y-yes, oh fuck yeah right there," I exclaim. You love it when I talk dirty.

You pull away, and begin to kiss my thighs. You trace your tongue all the way from my knee to my innermost upper thigh. You then grab one of my feet and stroke the bottom of it. I cry out uncontollably as you do it two more times. You lick my pussy again, finding my clit and sucking on it. Meanwhile you are rubbing the sole of my feet and gently tickling me. I laugh, moan and shudder all at once. You lift my legs up and place them on your shoulders. I wrap them around your neck and hump the air, forward and backward, begging you to be as close to me as you can. You do not hold back. You slip your tongue in and out of my throbbing pussy, each time more intense than before. My tits are bouncing all over. I grab onto your hair with one hand as I gently play with your ear lobe. This drives you crazy. "Please don't stop," I whisper. "Ohhh, oh!" I'm whimpering. The sensations intensify and my mind is trapped in a state of bliss; nothing exists outside of you and me. My body is aching for you. "I'm gonna cum, oh fuck I'm gonna cum!" An intense orgasm overtakes me, making my body twinge and jerk and shake, until I am left shaking on the bed. You run your tired tongue over my pussy a couple more times and I moan and shiver at your touch. We lay there together for some time, your fingers grazing over my vulnerable body, before getting ready for round two. 😉