Desdemona (moon)

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.[10] Desdemona is named after the wife of Othello in William Shakespeare's play Othello. It is also designated Uranus X.[11]

There is also a minor planet called 666 Desdemona.

Desdemona

Discovery image of Desdemona
Discovery
Discovered by	Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2
Discovery date	January 13, 1986
Designations
Designation	Uranus X
Pronunciation	/dɛzdɛˈmoʊnə/[1]
Adjectives	Desdemonan,[2] Desdemonian,[3] Desdemonean[4] /dɛzdɛˈmoʊn(i)ən/
Orbital characteristics
Mean orbit radius	62,658.364 ± 0.047 km[5]
Eccentricity	0.00013 ± 0.000070[5]
Orbital period	0.473649597 ± 0.000000014 d[5]
Inclination	0.11252 ± 0.037° (to Uranus' equator)[5]
Satellite of	Uranus
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	90 × 54 × 54 km[6]
Mean radius	32.0 ± 4 km[6][7][8]
Surface area	~14,500 km²[lower-alpha 1]
Volume	~164,000 km³[lower-alpha 1]
Mass	~1.8×10^17 kg[lower-alpha 1]
Mean density	~1.3 g/cm³ (assumed)[7]
Surface gravity	~0.011 m/s^2[lower-alpha 1]
Escape velocity	~0.027 km/s[lower-alpha 1]
Rotation period	synchronous[6]
Axial tilt	zero[6]
Albedo	0.08 ± 0.01[9] 0.07[7][8]
Temperature	~64 K[lower-alpha 1]

Desdemona belongs to 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] radius of 32 km[6] and geometric albedo of 0.08[9] virtually nothing is known about Desdemona.

At the Voyager 2 images Desdemona appears as an elongated object, the 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.[12]

See also

• Moons of Uranus

References

Explanatory notes

1. Calculated on the basis of other parameters.

Citations

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. 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.
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. "Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters". JPL (Solar System Dynamics). 24 October 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
8. Williams, Dr. David R. (23 November 2007). "Uranian Satellite Fact Sheet". NASA (National Space Science Data Center). Retrieved 12 December 2008.
9. 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. Smith, B. A. (January 16, 1986). "Satellites of Uranus". IAU Circular. 4164. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
11. "Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. July 21, 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2006.
12. 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.

External links

• Desdemona Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• Uranus' Known Satellites (by Scott S. Sheppard)