Sycorax (moon)
| Discovery | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovered by | Philip D. Nicholson, Brett J. Gladman, Joseph A. Burns, John J. Kavelaars using the 200-inch Hale telescope | ||||||
| Discovered in | September 6, 1997 | ||||||
| Orbital characteristics | |||||||
| Mean radius | 12,179,000 km | ||||||
| Eccentricity | 0.5224 | ||||||
| Orbital period | 1288.28 d | ||||||
| Inclination | 146.84° (to Uranus' equator) 159.403° (to the local Laplace plane) 152.51° (to the ecliptic) | ||||||
| Is a satellite of | Uranus | ||||||
| Physical characteristics | |||||||
| Mean diameter | 190 km | ||||||
| Surface area | ~113,000 km2 | ||||||
| Volume | ~3,600,000 km3 | ||||||
| Mass | 5.4×1018 kg | ||||||
| Mean density | ~1.5 g/cm3 | ||||||
| Surface gravity | ~0.040 m/s2 | ||||||
| Escape velocity | ~0.087 km/s | ||||||
| Rotation period | ? | ||||||
| Axial tilt | ?° | ||||||
| Albedo | 0.07 (assumed) | ||||||
| Surface temp. |
| ||||||
| Atmospheric pressure | 0 kPa | ||||||
Sycorax (sik'-or-aks) is a moon of Uranus. Sycorax was discovered on 1997-09-06 by Brett J. Gladman, Philip D. Nicholson, Joseph A. Burns, and John J. Kavelaars using the 200-inch Hale telescope. It was given the temporary designation S/1997 U 2. It is also designated Uranus XVII.
They also discovered the moon Caliban at the same time.
Its orbital radius is approximately 12.2 million km from Uranus and is about 190 km in diameter, but this size estimate is based on the moon's apparent brightness and the assumption that it has an albedo of about 0.07. Its orbit is retrograde and highly inclined. Sycorax's composition is probably a mixture of rock and ice, and its unusually red color suggests a historical link with the Kuiper belt; Sycorax is probably a captured Kuiper Belt object.
Sycorax is named after Caliban's mother in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.
| Uranus' natural satellitesedit |
|---|
| Cordelia | Ophelia | Bianca | Cressida | Desdemona | Juliet | Portia | Rosalind | S/2003 U 2 | Belinda |
| S/1986 U 10 | Puck | S/2003 U 1 | Miranda | Ariel | Umbriel | Titania | Oberon | S/2001 U 3 |
| Caliban | Stephano | Trinculo | Sycorax | Margaret | Prospero | Setebos | S/2001 U 2 |
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