Cordelia (moon)

Cordelia is the innermost known moon of Uranus. It was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on January 20, 1986, and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 7.[8] It was not detected again until the Hubble Space Telescope observed it in 1997.[7][9] Cordelia takes its name from the youngest daughter of Lear in William Shakespeare's King Lear. It is also designated Uranus VI.[10]

Cordelia
Cordelia (image taken 21 January 1986)
Discovery
Discovered byRichard J. Terrile / Voyager 2
Discovery dateJanuary 20, 1986
Designations
Designation
Uranus VI
Pronunciation/kɔːrˈdiːliə/[1]
AdjectivesCordelian[2]
Orbital characteristics
Mean orbit radius
49751.722 ± 0.149 km[3]
Eccentricity0.00026 ± 0.000096[3]
0.33503384 ± 0.00000058 d[3]
Inclination0.08479 ± 0.031° (to Uranus' equator)[3]
Satellite ofUranus
Groupring shepherd
Physical characteristics
Dimensions50 × 36 × 36 km[4]
Mean radius
20.1 ± 3 km[4][5][6]
~5500 km²[lower-alpha 1]
Volume~38,900 km³[lower-alpha 1]
Mass~4.4×1016 kg[lower-alpha 1]
Mean density
~1.3 g/cm³ (assumed)[5]
~0.0073 m/s²[lower-alpha 1]
~0.017 km/s[lower-alpha 1]
synchronous[4]
zero[4]
Albedo
Temperature~64 K[lower-alpha 1]

    Other than its orbit,[3] radius of 20 km[4] and geometric albedo of 0.08[7] virtually nothing is known about it. In the Voyager 2 images Cordelia appears as an elongated object with its major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axes of Cordelia's prolate spheroid is 0.7 ± 0.2.[4]

    Cordelia acts as the inner shepherd satellite for Uranus' ε ring.[11] Cordelia's orbit is within Uranus' synchronous orbit radius, and is therefore slowly decaying due to tidal deceleration.[4]

    Cordelia is very close to a 5:3 orbital resonance with Rosalind.[12]

    See also

    References

    Explanatory notes

    1. Calculated on the basis of other parameters.

    Citations

    1. Benjamin Smith (1903) The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
    2. Jennifer Bates (2010) Hegel and Shakespeare on Moral Imagination, p. 102
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. "Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters". JPL (Solar System Dynamics). 24 October 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
    6. Williams, Dr. David R. (23 November 2007). "Uranian Satellite Fact Sheet". NASA (National Space Science Data Center). Retrieved 12 December 2008.
    7. 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.
    8. Smith, B. A. (1986-01-27). "Satellites and Rings of Uranus". IAU Circular. 4168. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
    9. Showalter, M. R.; Lissauer, J. J. (2003-09-03). "Satellites of Uranus". IAU Circular. 8194. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
    10. "Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. July 21, 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2006.
    11. Esposito, L. W. (2002). "Planetary rings". Reports on Progress in Physics. 65 (12): 1741–1783. Bibcode:2002RPPh...65.1741E. doi:10.1088/0034-4885/65/12/201.
    12. Murray, Carl D.; Thompson, Robert P. (1990-12-06). "Orbits of shepherd satellites deduced from the structure of the rings of Uranus". Nature. 348 (6301): 499–502. Bibcode:1990Natur.348..499M. doi:10.1038/348499a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
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