Cressida (moon)

Cressida is a closer moon to Uranus. It was found from the images taken by Voyager 2 on 1986-01-09, and was given the designation S/1986 U 3.[5] It was named after the Trojan daughter of Calchas, a tragic heroine who appears in William Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida (as well as in tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and others). It is also designated Uranus IX.[6]

Cressida
Discovery
Discovered byStephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2
Discovery dateJanuary 9, 1986
Orbital characteristics
Mean orbit radius
61,766.730 ± 0.046 km[1]
Eccentricity0.00036 ± 0.00011[1]
0.463569601 ± 0.000000013 d[1]
Inclination0.006 ± 0.040° (to Uranus' equator)[1]
Satellite ofUranus
Physical characteristics
Dimensions92 × 74 × 74 km[2]
Mean radius
41 ± 2 km[2]
~20,000 km²[3]
Volume~260,000 km³[3]
Mass~3.4×1017 kg[3]
Mean density
~1.3 g/cm³ (assumed)
~0.013 m/s2[3]
~0.034 km/s[3]
synchronous[2]
zero[2]
Albedo0.08 ± 0.01[4]
Temperature~64 K[3]
Uranus-Portia-Cressida-Ophelia-NASA.gif

Cressida belongs to Portia Group of moons, which also includes Bianca, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita.[4] These moons have similar orbits and photometric properties.[4] Other than its orbit,[1] radius of 41 km[2] and geometric albedo of 0.08[4] almost nothing is known about it.

At the Voyager 2 images Cressida appears as a stretched object, the major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axes of Cressida's prolate spheroid is 0.8 ± 0.3.[2] Its surface is grey in color.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Jacobson, R.A. (1998). "The Orbits of the Inner Uranian Satellites From Hubble Space Telescope and Voyager2 Observations". The Astronomical Journal. 115 (3): 1195–1199. Bibcode:1998AJ....115.1195J. doi:10.1086/300263. S2CID 118616209.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 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.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Calculated on the basis of other parameters
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 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.
  5. Smith, B. A. (January 16, 1986). "IAU Circular No. 4164". Retrieved 2006-08-06.
  6. "Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. July 21, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-06.

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