Prospero (moon)
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Prospero, also known as Uranus XVIII, is one of the largest retrograde irregular satellite of Uranus.
Discovery and Naming
Prospero was discovered on 18 July 1999 by the astrophysicist Matthew Holman and his team, and given the provisional designation S/1999 U 3.
Confirmed as Uranus XVIII it was named after the sorcerer Prospero in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.
Orbit
Prospero orbits Uranus at an average distance of 16,256,000 km, in 1978 days, at an inclination of about 152° to the ecliptic, in a retrograde direction and with an high eccentricity of 0.445. The orbital elements are continuously changing due to solar and planetary perturbations.
Physical characteristics
Prospero estimated diameter is 50 kilometers, assuming an albedo of 4%.
The satellite appears neutral (grey) in visible light (colour indices B−V=0.80, R−V=0.39),Template:Sfn similar to Setebos.
Measurements of Prosperos light curve by the Kepler space telescope indicate that its rotation period is about 7 hours and 8,76 min.[1] which makes it one of the fastest-rotating moons in our solar system.
Origin
Prospero probably did not form near Uranus but was captured by Uranus later. The orbital parameters suggest that it may belong to the same dynamic cluster as Sycorax and Setebos, suggesting a common origin.[2] However, Sycorax has a much redder color than the other moons, which tend to be gray in color.
See also
References
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- ↑ Grav, Tommy; Holman, Matthew J.; Gladman, Brett J.; Aksnes, Kaare Photometric survey of the irregular satellites, Icarus, 166, (2003), pp. 33–45. arXiv:astro-ph/0301016File:Lock-green.svg
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External links
- Prospero Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- David Jewitt pages
- Uranus' Known Satellites (by Scott S. Sheppard)
- MPC: Natural Satellites Ephemeris Service
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