| Desdemona | |
| Mpc Name: | Uranus X |
| Pronounced: | [1] |
| Adjectives: | Desdemonan, Desdemonian,[2] Desdemonean[3] |
| Discoverer: | Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2 |
| Discovered: | January 13, 1986 |
| Semimajor: | 62,658.364 ± 0.047 km |
| Eccentricity: | 0.00013 ± 0.000070 |
| Period: | 0.473649597 ± 0.000000014 d |
| Inclination: | 0.11252 ± 0.037° (to Uranus' equator) |
| Satellite Of: | Uranus |
| Dimensions: | 90 × 54 × 54 km |
| Surface Area: | ~13,000 km2 |
| Density: | ≥0.66 g/cm3 ~0.90 g/cm3 (assumed) |
| Surface Grav: | ~– m/s2 |
| Escape Velocity: | ~– km/s |
| Rotation: | synchronous |
| Axial Tilt: | zero |
| Albedo: | 0.08 ± 0.01 0.07 |
| Single Temperature: | ~64 K |
Desdemona is an inner satellite of Uranus. It was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on 13 January 1986, and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 6. Desdemona is named after the wife of Othello in William Shakespeare's play Othello. It is also designated Uranus X.
Desdemona belongs to Portia Group of satellites, which also includes Bianca, Cressida, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda, and Perdita. These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties. Other than its orbit, size of 90 × 54 km, and geometric albedo of 0.08, virtually nothing is known about Desdemona.
In Voyager 2 imagery, Desdemona appears as an elongated object, with its major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axes of Desdemona's prolate spheroid is 0.6 ± 0.3. Its surface is grey in color.
Desdemona may collide with one of its neighboring moons Cressida or Juliet within the next 100 million years.