Desdemona (moon)

There is also a minor planet called 666 Desdemona.
Desdemona
Desdemonamoon.png
Discovery image of Desdemona
Discovery
Discovered byStephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2
Discovery dateJanuary 13, 1986
Designations
Designation
Uranus X
Pronunciation/dɛzdəˈmoʊnə/
AdjectivesDesdemonan, Desdemonian, Desdemonean /dɛzdəˈmoʊn(i)ən/
Orbital characteristics
Mean orbit radius
62,658.364 ± 0.047 km
Eccentricity0.00013 ± 0.000070
0.473649597 ± 0.000000014 d
Inclination0.11252 ± 0.037° (to Uranus' equator)
Satellite ofUranus
Physical characteristics
Dimensions90 × 54 × 54 km
Mean radius
32.0 ± 4 km
~14,500 km2
Volume~164,000 km3
Mass~1.8×1017 kg
Mean density
~1.3 g/cm3 (assumed)
~0.011 m/s2
~0.027 km/s
synchronous
zero
Albedo
  • 0.08 ± 0.01
  • 0.07
Temperature~64 K

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

Desdemona belongs to Portia Group of satellites, which also includes Bianca, Cressida, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita. These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties. Other than its orbit, radius of 32 km and geometric albedo of 0.08 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. Its surface is grey in color.

Desdemona may collide with one of its neighboring moons Cressida or Juliet within the next 100 million years.

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-09-15 18:58 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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