Ophelia (moon)

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Ophelia
Ophelia (image taken 21 January 1986)
Discovery[1]
Discovered byRichard J. Terrile / Voyager 2
Discovery dateJanuary 20, 1986
Designations
Designation
Uranus VII
Pronunciation/ˈfliə/[2]
AdjectivesOphelian /ɒˈfliən/[3]
Orbital characteristics[4]
53763.390±0.847 km
Eccentricity0.00992±0.000107
0.37640039±0.00000357 d
10.39 km/s[a]
Inclination0.10362°±0.055° (to Uranus' equator)[4]
Satellite ofUranus
Groupring shepherd
Physical characteristics
Dimensions54 × 38 × 38 km[5][note 1]
~5900 km2[a]
Volume40800±50.4% km3[6]
Mass(3.57±0.32)×1016 kg[6]
Mean density
0.87+0.89
−0.30
 g/cm3
[6]
~0.003–0.007 m/s2[a]
~0.013–0.016 km/s[a]
synchronous[5]
zero[5]
Albedo0.065±0.01[7]
0.07[8]
Temperature~65 K[a]
  1. ^ Only two dimensions are known; the third dimension has been assumed to equal the smaller known dimension.

Ophelia is a 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 8.[1] It was not seen again until the Hubble Space Telescope recovered it in 2003.[7][9] Ophelia was named after the daughter of Polonius, Ophelia, in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. It is also designated Uranus VII.[10]

Other than its orbit,[4] size of 54 × 38 km[5] and geometric albedo of 0.065[7] virtually nothing is known about it. At the Voyager 2 images Ophelia appears as an elongated object, the major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axes of the Ophelia's prolate spheroid is 0.7 ± 0.3.[5]

Ophelia acts as the outer shepherd satellite for Uranus' ε ring.[11] The orbit of Ophelia is within the synchronous orbit radius of Uranus, and is therefore slowly decaying due to tidal forces.[5]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Calculated on the basis of other parameters.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Smith, B. A. (1986-01-27). "Satellites and Rings of Uranus". IAU Circular. 4168. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  2. ^ Benjamin Smith (1903). The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia.
  3. ^ "Ophelian". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ a b c 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. S2CID 118616209.
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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.
  6. ^ a b c French, Richard G.; Hedman, Matthew M.; Nicholson, Philip D.; Longaretti, Pierre-Yves; McGhee-French, Colleen A. (2024-03-15). "The Uranus system from occultation observations (1977–2006): Rings, pole direction, gravity field, and masses of Cressida, Cordelia, and Ophelia". Icarus. 411: 115957. arXiv:2401.04634. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2024.115957. ISSN 0019-1035.
  7. ^ a b c 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. ^ Williams, Dr. David R. (23 November 2007). "Uranian Satellite Fact Sheet". NASA (National Space Science Data Center). Retrieved 12 December 2008.
  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. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. 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. S2CID 250909885.

External links[edit]