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![]() Enhanced Voyager 2 image of Cressida | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2 |
| Discovery date | January 9, 1986 |
| Designations | |
Designation | Uranus IX |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkrɛsədə/[1] |
| Named after | Χρησίδα |
| Adjectives | Cressidian /krɛˈsɪdiən/[2] |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Mean orbit radius | 61,766.730 ± 0.046 km[3] |
| Eccentricity | 0.00036 ± 0.00011[3] |
| Orbital period | 0.463569601 ± 0.000000013 d[3] |
| Inclination | 0.006 ± 0.040° (to Uranus' equator)[3] |
| Satellite of | Uranus |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 92 × 74 × 74 km[4] |
| Mean radius | 39.8 ± 2 km[4][5][6] |
| Surface area | ~20,000 km2[lower-alpha 1] |
| Volume | ~260,000 km3[lower-alpha 1] |
| Mass | 2.5±0.4×1017 kg[7] |
| Mean density | 0.86±0.16 g/cm3[7] |
| ~0.013 m/s2[lower-alpha 1] | |
| ~0.034 km/s[lower-alpha 1] | |
| Rotation period | synchronous[4] |
| Axial tilt | zero[4] |
| Albedo | |
| Physics | ~64 K[lower-alpha 1] |
Cressida /ˈkrɛsədə/ is an inner satellite of Uranus. It was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on 9 January 1986, and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 3.[9] It was named after Cressida, the Trojan daughter of Calchas, a tragic heroine who appears in William Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida (as well as in tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and others). It is also designated Uranus IX.[10]
Cressida belongs to the Portia group of satellites, which includes Bianca, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita.[8] These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties.[8] Other than its orbit,[3] radius of 41 km[4] and geometric albedo of 0.08,[8] virtually nothing is known about it.
In the Voyager 2 images Cressida appears as an elongated object, its major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axes of Cressida's prolate spheroid is 0.8 ± 0.3.[4] Its surface is grey in color.[4]
Cressida orbits close to a 3:2 resonance with the η ring, one of the rings of Uranus. Perturbations of the ring's shape provide a way to measure the mass of Cressida, which was found to be 2.5±0.4×1017 kg. Cressida is the only small satellite of Uranus for which the mass has been directly measured.[7]
Cressida may collide with Desdemona within the next 100 million years.[11]
Explanatory notes
Citations