Umbriel (moon)

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/umbriel-moon

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the location?Orbiting Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun
2. What is the diameter?Approximately 735 miles (1,185 kilometers)
3. What is Umbriel?Umbriel is the third‑largest moon of Uranus. It has a very dark, heavily cratered surface that looks like an ancient picture of the early solar system.
4. Why is Umbriel so dark?Its surface is covered with dark material called tholins, made of carbon compounds that may have come from comets or from inside the moon when it formed.

Albedo: The measure of how much light a surface reflects; a low albedo means it's dark.
Tholins: Complex organic molecules formed by ultraviolet radiation acting on simple compounds like methane and nitrogen.
Cryovolcanism: Volcanic activity where eruptions consist of molten or semi-molten ice, rather than molten rock.
Comparative Planetology: The study of planets by comparing their structure, composition, and evolution.