Quick facts
Parent planet
Diameter (mean)
64 km
Mass
1.8 × 10¹⁷ kg
2.5e-06 Moon masses
Mean orbital radius
62,680 km
Orbital period
0.474 Earth days
Discovery year
1986
Discoverer
Stephen P. Synnott (Voyager 2)
Naming origin
Tragic heroine of Othello
Surface conditions
Desdemona is one of the Portia-group inner moons of Uranus.
Missions and observations
Every Uranus-system mission has had an opportunity to image or characterize Desdemona. The list below is the Uranus-system mission catalog; specific Desdemona encounters are documented in mission archives.
| Mission | Year at Uranus | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
Voyager 2 NASA |
1986 | Completed |
Naming etymology
Desdemona was the tragic wife of Othello in Shakespeare's tragedy, murdered by her jealous husband. Adopted by the IAU in 1988.
Methodology & sources
Diameter, mass, and orbital parameters from JPL Solar System Dynamics — Physical Parameters. Discovery year and discoverer from the JPL Satellite Discovery Circumstances. Naming etymology from the IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. Stylized SVG hero composed from NASA / JPL imagery as visual reference; no photographs are reproduced.