Desdemona (moon)
Moon of Uranus
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Desdemona is an inner satellite of Uranus. It was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on 13 January 1986, and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 6.[12] Desdemona is named after the wife of Othello in William Shakespeare's play Othello. It is also designated Uranus X.[13]
Discovery image of Desdemona | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2 |
| Discovery date | January 13, 1986 |
| Designations | |
Designation | Uranus X |
| Pronunciation | /dɛzdəˈmoʊnə/[1] |
| Adjectives | Desdemonan,[2] Desdemonian,[3] Desdemonean[4] /dɛzdəˈmoʊn(i)ən/ |
| Orbital characteristics[5] | |
| 62,658.364 ± 0.047 km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.00013 ± 0.000070 |
| 0.473649597 ± 0.000000014 d | |
| Inclination | 0.11252 ± 0.037° (to Uranus's equator) |
| Satellite of | Uranus |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 90 × 54 × 54 km[6][note 1] |
| ~13,000 km2[a] | |
| Volume | 137400 km3 ± 37.5%[7] |
| Mass | (1.237±0.436)×1017 kg[7] |
Mean density | 0.5–1.2 g/cm3[8] 0.90 g/cm3 (assumed)[7] |
| synchronous[6] | |
| zero[6] | |
| Albedo | 0.08 ± 0.01[9] 0.07[10][11] |
| |
Desdemona belongs to the Portia group of satellites, which also includes Bianca, Cressida, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda, and Perdita.[9] These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties.[9] Other than its orbit,[5] size of 90 km × 54 km (56 mi × 34 mi),[6] and geometric albedo of 0.08,[9] little is known about Desdemona.
In Voyager 2 imagery, Desdemona appears as an elongated object, with its major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axes of Desdemona's prolate spheroid is 0.6 ± 0.3.[6] Its surface is grey in color.[6]
Desdemona may collide with one of its neighboring moons Cressida or Juliet within the next 100 million years.[14]
See also
Notes
- Calculated on the basis of other parameters.