Desdemona (moon)

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Desdemona
Desdemonamoon.png
Discovery image of Desdemona
Discovery
Discovered by Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2
Discovery dateJanuary 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]
  1. ↑ Only two dimensions are known; the third dimension has been assumed to equal the smaller known dimension.

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]

Contents

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

  1. ↑ Calculated on the basis of other parameters.

References

  1. ↑ Benjamin Smith (1903). The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia.
  2. ↑ Harris; Lazzari (1997), Shakespearean criticism
  3. ↑ Daileader (2005). Racism, misogyny, and the Othello myth.
  4. ↑ Genova (1997). Power, gender, values.
  5. 1 2 Jacobson, R. A. (1998). "The Orbits of the Inner Uranian Satellites From Hubble Space Telescope and Voyager 2 Observations". The Astronomical Journal. 115 (3): 1195–1199. Bibcode:1998AJ....115.1195J. doi: 10.1086/300263 . S2CID   118616209.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Karkoschka, Erich (2001). "Voyager's Eleventh Discovery of a Satellite of Uranus and Photometry and the First Size Measurements of Nine Satellites". Icarus. 151 (1): 69–77. Bibcode:2001Icar..151...69K. doi:10.1006/icar.2001.6597.
  7. 1 2 3 French, Richard G.; Hedman, Matthew M.; Nicholson, Philip D.; Longaretti, Pierre-Yves; McGhee-French, Colleen A. (2024-03-15). "The Uranus system from occultation observations (1977–2006): Rings, pole direction, gravity field, and masses of Cressida, Cordelia, and Ophelia". Icarus. 411 115957. arXiv: 2401.04634 . doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2024.115957. ISSN   0019-1035.
  8. ↑ French, Robert S.; Showalter, Mark R. (August 2012). "Cupid is Doomed: An Analysis of the Stability of the Inner Uranian Satellites". Icarus. 220 (2): 911–921. arXiv: 1408.2543 . Bibcode:2012Icar..220..911F. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.06.031.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Karkoschka, Erich (2001). "Comprehensive Photometry of the Rings and 16 Satellites of Uranus with the Hubble Space Telescope". Icarus. 151 (1): 51–68. Bibcode:2001Icar..151...51K. doi:10.1006/icar.2001.6596.
  10. ↑ "Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters". JPL (Solar System Dynamics). 24 October 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
  11. ↑ Williams, Dr. David R. (23 November 2007). "Uranian Satellite Fact Sheet". NASA (National Space Science Data Center). Retrieved 12 December 2008.
  12. ↑ Smith, B. A. (January 16, 1986). "Satellites of Uranus". IAU Circular. 4164. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  13. ↑ "Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. July 21, 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2006.
  14. ↑ Duncan, Martin J.; Lissauer, Jack J. (1997). "Orbital Stability of the Uranian Satellite System". Icarus. 125 (1): 1–12. Bibcode:1997Icar..125....1D. doi:10.1006/icar.1996.5568.
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