Cupid is an

inner satellite In astronomy, an inner moon or inner natural satellite is a natural satellite following a prograde, low-inclination orbit inwards of the large satellites of the parent planet. They are generally thought to have been formed ''in situ'' at the same ...

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars (mythology), Mars), grandfather ...

. It was discovered by

Mark R. Showalter Mark Robert Showalter (born December 5, 1957) is a Senior Research Scientist at the SETI Institute. He is the discoverer of six moons and three planetary rings. He is the Principal Investigator of NASA's Planetary Data System Rings Node, a co-inv ...

and

Jack J. Lissauer Jack Jonathan Lissauer (born 1957) is an American research scientist who has worked for NASA's Ames Research Center since 1996. He is a science co-investigator on the Kepler space telescope mission. Biography Lissauer received a PhD in mathemat ...

in 2003 using the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

. It was named after a character in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

Timon of Athens ''Timon of Athens'' (''The Life of Tymon of Athens'') is a play written by William Shakespeare and probably also Thomas Middleton in about 1606. It was published in the ''First Folio'' in 1623. Timon lavishes his wealth on parasitic companion ...

''. It is the smallest known inner Uranian satellite, crudely estimated to be only about 18 km in diameter. This and the dark surface made it too dim to be detected by the ''

Voyager 2 ''Voyager 2'' is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. As a part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, ''Voyager 1'', on a ...

'' cameras during its Uranus flyby in 1986. The orbit of Cupid differs only by 863 km from the orbit of the larger moon

Belinda Belinda is a feminine given name of unknown origin, apparently coined from Italian ''bella'', meaning "beautiful". Alternatively it may be derived from the Old High German name ''Betlinde'', which possibly meant "bright serpent" or "bright linde ...

. Unlike

Mab A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a cell Lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies ca ...

and Perdita, Uranian satellites also discovered in 2003, it does not seem to be perturbed. Following its discovery, Cupid was given the temporary designation S/2003 U 2. It is also designated Uranus XXVII. It should not be confused with the

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

763 Cupido 763 Cupido ('' prov. designation:'' ''or'' ) is a Flora asteroid, tumbler and slow rotator from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 25 September 1913, by German astronomer Franz Kaiser at t ...

References

External links

Hubble Uncovers Smallest Moons Yet Seen Around Uranus
nbsp;– Hubble Space Telescope news release (25 September 2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cupid (Moon) Moons of Uranus 20030825 Moons with a prograde orbit