Sycorax (moon)
moon of Uranus / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sycorax is one of Uranus' moons. It is the biggest retrograde non-spherical one of its moons.
Quick Facts Discovery, Discovered by ...
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Philip D. Nicholson, Brett J. Gladman, Joseph A. Burns, John J. Kavelaars |
Discovery date | September 6, 1997 |
Orbital characteristics | |
Mean orbit radius | 12,179,000 km |
Eccentricity | 0.5224 |
1288.28 d | |
Inclination | 159° (to the ecliptic)[1] |
Satellite of | Uranus |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | 12,179,000 km |
~70,000 km² (estimate) | |
Volume | ~1,800,000 km³ (estimate) |
Mass | ~5.4×1018 kg (estimate) |
Mean density | ~1.5 g/cm³ (estimate) |
~0.040 m/s2 (estimate) | |
~0.087 km/s (estimate) | |
Albedo | 0.04 (assumed)[1] |
Close
Sycorax was found on September 6, 1997 by Brett J. Gladman, Philip D. Nicholson, Joseph A. Burns, and John J. Kavelaars. They found it using the 200-inch Hale telescope. They also found Caliban. Sycorax was given the designation S/1997 U 2.[2]
Sycorax was confirmed as Uranus XVII. It was named after Sycorax, Caliban's mother in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.