Desdemona (moon)
Discovery image of Desdemona | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2 |
| Discovery date | January 13, 1986 |
| Designations | |
Designation | Uranus X |
| Pronunciation | /dɛzdəˈmoʊnə/ |
| Adjectives | Desdemonan, Desdemonian, Desdemonean /dɛzdəˈmoʊn(i)ən/ |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 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 |
| ~13,000 km2 | |
| Volume | 137400 km3 ± 37.5% |
| Mass | (1.237±0.436)×1017 kg |
Mean density | 0.5–1.2 g/cm3 0.90 g/cm3 (assumed) |
| synchronous | |
| zero | |
| Albedo | 0.08 ± 0.01 0.07 |
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 the 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, size of 90 km × 54 km (56 mi × 34 mi), and geometric albedo of 0.08, 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. Its surface is grey in color.
Desdemona may collide with one of its neighboring moons Cressida or Juliet within the next 100 million years.