Bianca

There is also an asteroid called 218 Bianca.

Bianca

Discovery
Discovered by	Bradford A. Smith / Voyager 2
Discovery date	January 23, 1986
Orbital characteristics
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
Proper orbital elements
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	64 × 46 × 46 km[2]
Mean radius	25.7 ± 2 km[2][3][4]
Surface area	~8300 km²[a]
Volume	~71,000 km³[a]
Mass	~9.2×1016 kg[a]
Mean density	~1.3 g/cm³ (assumed)[3]
Equatorial surface gravity	~0.0086 m/s²[a]
Escape velocity	~0.022 km/s[a]
Rotation period	synchronous[2]
Axial tilt	zero[2]
Albedo	0.08 ± 0.01 [5] 0.07[3][4]
Temperature	~64 K[a]

Bianca ( /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.^[6] It was named after the sister of Katherine in Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew. Originally, it was to be called Peaseblossom after a fairy in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, but 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. It is also designated Uranus VIII.^[7]

Bianca belongs to Portia Group of satellites, which also includes Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita.^[5] These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties.^[5] Other than its orbit,^[1] radius of 27 km,^[2] and geometric albedo of 0.08^[5] 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 axes of the Bianca's prolate spheroid is 0.7 ± 0.2.^[2] Its surface is grey in color.^[2]

See also

• Moons of Uranus

References

Explanatory notes

Citations

External links

• Bianca Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• Uranus' Known Satellites (by Scott S. Sheppard)

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