Ophelia (moon) explained

Ophelia
Mpc Name:Uranus VII
Pronounced:[1]
Adjective:Ophelian
Discoverer:Richard J. Terrile / Voyager 2
Discovered:January 20, 1986
Avg Speed:10.39 km/s
Inclination: (to Uranus' equator)
Satellite Of:Uranus
Group:ring shepherd
Dimensions:54 × 38 × 38 km
Surface Area:~5900 km2
Surface Grav:~– m/s2
Escape Velocity:~– km/s
Rotation:synchronous
Axial Tilt:zero
Albedo:
0.07
Single Temperature:~65 K

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

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

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

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Notes and References

  1. Book: Benjamin Smith. 1903. The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia.