Desdemona (moon)

There is also a minor planet called 666 Desdemona.

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

Discovery image of Desdemona
Discovery
Discovered by	Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2
Discovery date	January 13, 1986
Designations
Designation	Uranus X
Pronunciation	/dɛzdəˈmoʊnə/[1]
Adjectives	Desdemonan,[2] Desdemonian,[3] Desdemonean[4] /dɛzdəˈmoʊn(i)ən/
Orbital characteristics[5]
Semi-major axis	62,658.364 ± 0.047 km
Eccentricity	0.00013 ± 0.000070
Orbital period (sidereal)	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]
Surface area	~13,000 km2[a]
Volume	137400±37.5% km3[7]
Mass	(1.237±0.436)×1017 kg[7]
Mean density	≥0.66 g/cm3[7] ~0.90 g/cm3 (assumed)
Surface gravity	~0.004–0.011 m/s2[a]
Escape velocity	~0.019–0.025 km/s[a]
Synodic rotation period	synchronous[6]
Axial tilt	zero[6]
Albedo	0.08 ± 0.01[8] 0.07[9][10]
Temperature	~64 K[a]
Only two dimensions are known; the third dimension has been assumed to equal the smaller known dimension.

Desdemona belongs to the 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] 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.^[13]

See also

• Moons of Uranus

Notes

1. Calculated on the basis of other parameters.