Ferdinand (moon)

Ferdinand (fər'-də-nand, IPA: /ˈfɝdɨnænd/) is the outermost retrograde irregular satellite of Uranus. It was discovered by Matthew J. Holman, John J. Kavelaars, Dan Milisavljevic, and Brett J. Gladman on August 13, 2001 and given the provisional designation S/2001 U 2.

Despite being seen again on September 21 and November 15 and even a year later on August 13 and September 5, 2002, it was eventually lost. It was finally recovered on September 24, 2003 by Scott S. Sheppard on images obtained by David C. Jewitt and himself on August 29-30 and September 20 of that year. Confirming observations were made by Holman on September 30.

Designated Uranus XXIV it was named after the son of the King of Naples in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.

Orbit

Ferdinand is the most distant known satellite of Uranus. It follows a retrograde, modestly inclined but highly eccentric orbit. The diagram illustrates the orbital parameters of the retrograde irregular satellites of Uranus (in polar co-ordinates) with the eccentricity of the orbits represented by the segments extending from the pericentre to the apocentre.

See also

• Uranus' natural satellites
• irregular satellites

References

External links

• Ferdinand Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• David Jewitt pages
• Uranus' Known Satellites (by Scott S. Sheppard)
• Ephemeris

v • d • e Uranus
Major Moons	Ariel · Miranda · Oberon · Titania · Umbriel
Characteristics	Atmosphere · Rings of Uranus · Moons
Discovery	William Herschel · William Lassell
Exploration	Voyager program · Voyager 2
Other	15 Orionis · Uranus-crosser asteroid · In fiction

bs:Ferdinand (mjesec)

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