Ferdinand is the outermost retrograde

irregular satellite In astronomy, an irregular moon, irregular satellite or irregular natural satellite is a natural satellite following a distant, inclined, and often eccentric and retrograde orbit. They have been captured by their parent planet, unlike regular s ...

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

. It was first seen near Uranus by Matthew J. Holman, John J. Kavelaars, Dan Milisavljevic, and

Brett J. Gladman Brett James Gladman (born April 19, 1966) is a Canadian astronomer and a full professor at the University of British Columbia's Department of Physics and Astronomy in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds the Canada Research Chair in planetary as ...

on August 13, 2001 and reobserved on September 21, 2001. The object was then lost with no confirmation it was actually orbiting around Uranus. On August 29 and 30, 2003 a team led by

Scott S. Sheppard Scott Sander Sheppard (born 1977) is an American astronomer and a discoverer of numerous moons, comets and minor planets in the outer Solar System. He is an astronomer in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution for Scie ...

surveyed the sky around Uranus with the Subaru telescope and detected two unknown objects near Uranus. These two new objects were reobserved by Sheppard et al. with the

Gemini telescope The Gemini Observatory is an astronomical observatory consisting of two 8.1-metre (26.6 ft) telescopes, Gemini North and Gemini South, which are located at two separate sites in Hawaii and Chile, respectively. The twin Gemini telescopes prov ...

on September 20, 2003 and reported to the Minor Planet Center as possible new moons of Uranus. On September 24, 2003, Brian G. Marsden, at the Minor Planet Center, linked one of the unknown objects reported by Sheppard et al. to the lost object observed by Holman et al. in 2001. Holman was then able to confirm the linkage between the 2001 and 2003 objects on September 30, 2003 by observing its location with the Magellan-Baade telescope. The linked 2001 and 2003 object was then given the provisional designation S/2001 U 2 on October 1, 2003, officially identifying it as a new moon of Uranus. Now designated Uranus XXIV, Ferdinand is named after the son of the King of Naples 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 '' The Tempest''. The second new object observed by Sheppard et al. in 2003 was also a new moon of Uranus, now named Margaret.

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

s of Uranus (in polar co-ordinates) with the eccentricity of the orbits represented by the segments extending from the

pericentre An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary (astronomy), primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two ...

to the apocentre.

References

External links

Ferdinand Profile
b
NASA's Solar System Exploration

(by

)
MPC: Natural Satellites Ephemeris Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand (Moon) Moons of Uranus Irregular satellites 20010813 Moons with a retrograde orbit

Orbit

See also

References

External links