Desdemona (moon)

There is also a minor planet called 666 Desdemona.
Desdemona
Discovery image of Desdemona
Discovery
Discovered byStephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2
Discovery dateJanuary 13, 1986
Designations
Designation
Uranus X
Pronunciation/dɛzdəˈmoʊnə/[1]
AdjectivesDesdemonan,[2] Desdemonian,[3] Desdemonean[4] /dɛzdəˈmoʊn(i)ən/
Orbital characteristics[5]
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[6][note 1]
~13,000 km2[a]
Volume137400±37.5% km3[7]
Mass(1.237±0.436)×1017 kg[7]
Mean density
≥0.66 g/cm3[7]
~0.90 g/cm3 (assumed)
~0.004–0.011 m/s2[a]
~0.019–0.025 km/s[a]
synchronous[6]
zero[6]
Albedo0.08 ± 0.01[8]
0.07[9][10]
Temperature~64 K[a]
  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.[11] Desdemona is named after the wife of Othello in William Shakespeare's play Othello. It is also designated Uranus X.[12]

Desdemona belongs to Portia Group of satellites, which also includes Bianca, Cressida, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda, and Perdita.[8] These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties.[8] Other than its orbit,[5] size of 90 × 54 km,[6] and geometric albedo of 0.08,[8] virtually nothing 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.[13]

  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. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Jacobson 1998 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference Karkoschka, Voyager 2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference FrenchEtAl2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Karkoschka, Hubble 2001 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference JPL-SSD-sat_phys was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Williams 2007 nssdc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference IAUC 4164 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gazetteer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Duncan Lissauer 1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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