Quick facts
Parent planet
Diameter (mean)
22 km
Mass
7.2 × 10¹⁵ kg
9.8e-08 Moon masses
Mean orbital radius
4,276,000 km
Orbital period
266.6 Earth days
Discovery year
2001
Discoverer
Matthew J. Holman et al.
Naming origin
Soldier in Hamlet
Surface conditions
Francisco is a small retrograde irregular Uranian moon, the closest of the irregulars to Uranus.
Missions and observations
Every Uranus-system mission has had an opportunity to image or characterize Francisco. The list below is the Uranus-system mission catalog; specific Francisco encounters are documented in mission archives.
| Mission | Year at Uranus | Status |
|---|---|---|
|
Voyager 2 NASA |
1986 | Completed |
Naming etymology
Francisco was a soldier appearing briefly in the opening scene of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Adopted by the IAU in 2003.
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.