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Discovery
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| Discovered by | Bradford A. Smith / Voyager 2 |
| Discovery date | January 23, 1986 |
| Mean orbit radius | 59,165.550 ± 0.045 km[1] |
| Eccentricity | 0.00092 ± 0.000118[1] |
| Orbital period | 0.434578986 ± 0.000000022 d[1] |
| Inclination | 0.19308 ± 0.054° (to Uranus' equator)[1] |
| Satellite of | Uranus |
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Physical characteristics
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| Dimensions | 64 × 46 × 46 km[2] |
| Mean radius | 25.7 ± 2 km[2][3][4] |
| Surface area | ~8300 km²[lower-alpha 1] |
| Volume | ~71,000 km³[lower-alpha 1] |
| Mass | ~9.2×1016 kg[lower-alpha 1] |
| Mean density | ~1.3 g/cm³ (assumed)[3] |
| Equatorial surface gravity | ~0.0086 m/s²[lower-alpha 1] |
| Escape velocity | ~0.022 km/s[lower-alpha 1] |
| Rotation period | synchronous[2] |
| Axial tilt | zero[2] |
| Albedo | |
| Temperature | ~64 K[lower-alpha 1] |
Bianca ( /biˈɑːŋkə/ bee-ahng-kə) is an inner satellite of Uranus. It was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on January 23, 1986, and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 9.[6] It was named after the sister of Katherine in Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew. Originally, it was to be called Peaseblossom after a fairy in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, but due to a nomenclature conflict between the USA and the USSR the name Bianca was quietly chosen by the IAU a few years after the moon's discovery. It is also designated Uranus VIII.[7]
Bianca belongs to Portia Group of satellites, which also includes Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita.[5] These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties.[5] Other than its orbit,[1] radius of 27 km,[2] and geometric albedo of 0.08[5] virtually nothing is known about it.
At the Voyager 2 images Bianca appears as an elongated object, the major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axes of the Bianca's prolate spheroid is 0.7 ± 0.2.[2] Its surface is grey in color.[2]
Explanatory notes
Citations
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