Prospero (moon)
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 Discovery image of Prospero. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by |
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| Discovery date | 18 July 1999 |
| Designations | |
| Adjective | Prosperonian, Prosperian |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Mean orbit radius | 16,256,000 km[1][2] |
| Eccentricity | 0.4448[2] |
| Orbital period | 1978.29 d |
| Inclination | 152°[1] (to the ecliptic)[1] |
| Satellite of | Uranus |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mean radius | 25 km (estimate)[ 1] |
| Surface area | ~8000 km² (estimate) |
| Volume | ~65,000 km³ (estimate) |
| Mass | ~8.5×1016 kg (estimate) |
| Mean density | ~1.3 g/cm³ (assumed) |
| Escape velocity | ~0.021 km/s (estimate) |
| Rotation period | ? |
| Axial tilt | ? |
| Albedo | 0.04 (assumed)[ 1] |
| Temperature | ~65 K (estimate) |
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Prospero (/ˈprɒspəroʊ/ PROS-pər-oh) is a relatively small retrograde irregular satellite of Uranus discovered on 18 July 1999 by the astrophysicist Matthew Holman and his team, and given the provisional designation S/1999 U 3. Confirmed as Uranus XVIII it was named after the sorcerer Prospero in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.
The orbital parameters suggest that it may belong to the same dynamic cluster as Sycorax and Setebos, suggesting common origin.[3] However, this suggestion does not appear to be supported by the observed colours. The satellite appears neutral (grey) in visible light (colour indices B-V=0.80, R-V=0.39),[4] similar to Setebos but different from Sycorax (which is light red).
See also
- Uranus' natural satellites
- Irregular satellites
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sheppard, Jewitt & Kleyna 2005, p. 523, Table 3.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Yeomans, Donald K. (28 June 2007). "Planetary Satellite Mean Orbital Parameters". JPL/NASA. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ↑ Grav, Tommy; Holman, Matthew J.; Gladman, Brett J.; Aksnes, Kaare Photometric survey of the irregular satellites, Icarus, 166, (2003), pp. 33–45. arXiv:astro-ph/0301016
- ↑ Grav, Holman & Fraser 2004.
- ↑ Sheppard, Jewitt & Kleyna 2005, p. 523, Table 3 ... ri (km) ... 25 ... i Radius of satellite assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04.
- Grav, Tommy; Holman, Matthew J.; Fraser, Wesley C. (2004-09-20). "Photometry of Irregular Satellites of Uranus and Neptune". The Astrophysical Journal 613 (1): L77–L80. arXiv:astro-ph/0405605. Bibcode:2004ApJ...613L..77G. doi:10.1086/424997.
- Sheppard, S. S.; Jewitt, D.; Kleyna, J. (2005). "An Ultradeep Survey for Irregular Satellites of Uranus: Limits to Completeness". The Astronomical Journal 129: 518. doi:10.1086/426329.
External links
- Prospero Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- David Jewitt pages
- Uranus' Known Satellites (by Scott S. Sheppard)
- MPC: Natural Satellites Ephemeris Service
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