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Bianca

 
Dictionary: Bi·an·ca   (byäng'kä, bē-äng'kə) pronunciation
 
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n.

The satellite of Uranus that is third in distance from the planet.

[After Bianca, sister of Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare.]


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Columbia Encyclopedia: Bianca
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Bianca, in astronomy, one of the natural satellites, or moons, of Uranus.

 
Wikipedia: Bianca (moon)
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There is also an asteroid called 218 Bianca.
Bianca
Bianca
Discovery
Discovered by Bradford A. Smith / Voyager 2
Discovery date January 23, 1986
Mean orbit radius 59,165.550 ± 0.045 km[1]
Eccentricity 0.00092 ± 0.000118[1]
Orbital period 0.434578986 ± 0.000000022 d[1]
Inclination 0.19308 ± 0.054° (to Uranus' equator)[1]
Satellite of Uranus
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 64 × 46 × 46 km[2]
Mean radius 25.7 ± 2 km[2][3][4]
Surface area ~8300 km²[5]
Volume ~71,000 km³[5]
Mass ~9.2 × 1016 kg[5]
Mean density ~1.3 g/cm³ (assumed)[3]
Equatorial surface gravity ~0.0086 m/s2[5]
Escape velocity ~0.022 km/s[5]
Rotation period synchronous[2]
Axial tilt zero[2]
Albedo 0.08 ± 0.01 [6]
0.07[3][4]
Temperature ~64 K[5]

Bianca (pronounced /biˈɑːŋkə/ bee-AHNG-kə) is an inner satellite of Uranus. It was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on January 23, 1986 and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 9.[7] It was named after the sister of Katherine in Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew. It was named Peaseblossom by its discoverers after a fairy in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, however due to a nomenclature conflict between the USA and the USSR the name Bianca was quietly chosen by the IAU a few years after the moon's discovery.[1] It is also designated Uranus VIII.[8].

Bianca belongs to Portia Group of satellites, which also includes Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita.[6] These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties.[6] Unfortunately, other than its orbit,[1] radius of 27 km[2] and geometric albedo of 0.08[6] virtually nothing is known about it.

At the Voyager 2 images Bianca appears as an elongated object, the major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axises of the Bianca's prolate spheroid is 0.7 ± 0.2.[2] Its surface is grey in color.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Jacobson, R.A. (1998). "The Orbits of the Inner Uranian Satellites From Hubble Space Telescope and Voyager2 Observations". The Astronomical Journal 115: 1195–1199. doi:10.1086/300263. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998AJ....115.1195J. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Karkoschka, Erich (2001). "Voyager's Eleventh Discovery of a Satellite of Uranus and Photometry and the First Size Measurements of Nine Satellites". Icarus 151: 69–77. doi:10.1006/icar.2001.6597. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001Icar..151...69K. 
  3. ^ a b c "Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters". JPL (Solar System Dynamics). 2008-10-24. http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_phys_par. Retrieved on 2008-12-12. 
  4. ^ a b Williams, Dr. David R. (2007-11-23). "Uranian Satellite Fact Sheet". NASA (National Space Science Data Center). http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/uraniansatfact.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-12. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f Calculated on the basis of other parameters
  6. ^ a b c d Karkoschka, Erich (2001). "Comprehensive Photometry of the Rings and 16 Satellites of Uranus with the Hubble Space Telescope". Icarus 151: 51–68. doi:10.1006/icar.2001.6596. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001Icar..151...51K. 
  7. ^ Smith, B. A. (1986-01-27). "IAU Circular No. 4168". http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/04100/04168.html#item1. Retrieved on 2006-08-06. 
  8. ^ "Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. 2006-07-21. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/append7.html. Retrieved on 2006-08-06. 

External links

v • d • e
Uranus
Discovery Photograph of Uranus taken by Voyager 2
Characteristics
Major moons
Puck · Ariel · Miranda · Oberon · Titania · Umbriel
Exploration
Miscellaneous
v • d • e
Moons of Uranus
Generally listed in increasing distance from Uranus
Inner
Cordelia · Ophelia · Bianca · Cressida · Desdemona · Juliet · Portia · Rosalind · Cupid  · Belinda · Perdita · Puck · Mab
Major (spheroid)
Outer (irregular)
Characteristics
Rings of Uranus

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bianca (moon)".  Read more

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