S/2023 U 1
Outer moon of Uranus / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
S/2023 U 1 is the smallest and faintest natural satellite of Uranus known, with a diameter of around 8–12 km (5–7 mi). It was discovered on 4 November 2023 by Scott S. Sheppard using the 6.5-meter Magellan–Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile, and later announced on 23 February 2024.[1] It orbits Uranus in the retrograde direction at an average distance of about 8 million km (5 million mi) and takes almost 2 Earth years to complete its orbit.
Quick Facts Discovery, Discovered by ...
Discovery[1][2] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Scott S. Sheppard |
Discovery site | Las Campanas Obs. |
Discovery date | 4 November 2023 |
Orbital characteristics[3] | |
Epoch 1 January 2020 (JD 2458849.5) | |
Observation arc | 2.26 yr (826 d) |
Earliest precovery date | 8 September 2021 |
Satellite of | Uranus |
Group | Caliban group |
Proper orbital elements | |
Proper semi-major axis | 7,976,600 km (0.053320 AU) AU |
Proper eccentricity | 0.250 |
Proper inclination | 143.9° (to ecliptic) |
Proper mean motion | 193.147234 deg / yr |
Proper orbital period | 1.86386 yr (680.776 d) |
Precession of perihelion | 255.228642 arcsec / yr |
Precession of the ascending node | 258.065338 arcsec / yr |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 8–12 km[lower-alpha 1] 8 km[5][6] |
26.7 (average)[5] | |
13.7[1] | |
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