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Sequence of discovery images of Ferdinand
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Discovery
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| Discovered by | Matthew J. Holman John J. Kavelaars Dan Milisavljevic Brett J. Gladman |
| Discovery date | August 13, 2001[1][2] (confirmed in 2003[1][3]) |
| Mean orbit radius | 20,901,000 km[4] |
| Eccentricity | 0.3682 |
| Orbital period | 2887.21 d |
| Inclination | 170° (to the ecliptic)[5] |
| Satellite of | Uranus |
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Physical characteristics
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| Mean radius | 10 km (estimate)[5] |
| Surface area | ~1300 km2 (estimate) |
| Volume | ~4200 km3 (estimate) |
| Mass | ~5.4×1015 kg (estimate) |
| Mean density | ~1.3 g/cm3 (assumed) |
| Rotation period | ? |
| Axial tilt | ? |
| Albedo | 0.04 (assumed)[5] |
| Temperature | ~65 K (estimate) |
Ferdinand ( /ˈfɜrdɨnænd/ fur-də-nand) is the outermost retrograde irregular satellite of Uranus. It was discovered by Matthew J. Holman, John J. Kavelaars, Dan Milisavljevic, and Brett J. Gladman on August 13, 2001, and given the provisional designation S/2001 U 2.
Despite being seen again on September 21 and November 15 and even a year later on August 13 and September 5, 2002, it was eventually lost. It was finally recovered on September 24, 2003, by Scott S. Sheppard on images obtained by David C. Jewitt and himself on August 29-30 and September 20 of that year. Confirming observations were made by Holman on September 30.
Designated Uranus XXIV, it was named after the son of the King of Naples in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.
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Ferdinand is the most distant known satellite of Uranus. It follows a retrograde, modestly inclined but highly eccentric orbit. The diagram illustrates the orbital parameters of the retrograde irregular satellites of Uranus (in polar co-ordinates) with the eccentricity of the orbits represented by the segments extending from the pericentre to the apocentre.
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