Cupid (moon)

Short description: Moon of Uranus

Cupid

Discovery
Discovered by| Mark R. Showalter and Jack J. Lissauer
Discovery date| August 25, 2003
Designations

Designation

| Uranus XXVII
Pronunciation| /ˈkjuːpəd/
Adjectives| Cupidian /kjuːˈpɪdiən/[1]
Orbital characteristics

Semi-major axis

| 74,392 km
Eccentricity| 0.0013
Orbital period| 0.618 d
Inclination| 0.1° (to Uranus' equator)
Satellite of| Uranus
Physical characteristics
Mean radius| ~9 km[2]
Surface area| ~1,000 km2
Volume| ~3,000 km3
Mass| ~3.8×1015 kg
Mean density| ~1.3 g/cm3

surface gravity

| ~0.0031 m/s2

escape velocity

| ~0.0076 km/s
Rotation period| synchronous
Axial tilt| 0
Albedo| 0.07 (assumed)
Physics| ~64 K

Cupid is an inner satellite of Uranus. It was discovered by Mark R. Showalter and Jack J. Lissauer in 2003 using the Hubble Space Telescope.[3] It was named after a character in William Shakespeare's play Timon of Athens.[4]

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 cameras during its Uranus flyby in 1986.

The orbit of Cupid differs only by 863 km from the orbit of the larger moon Belinda. Unlike Mab and Perdita, Uranian satellites also discovered in 2003, it does not seem to be perturbed.[2] Despite this, it has the least stable orbit of Uranus's inner moons — it is likely to collide with Belinda in the next 100,000–10 million years, due to resonance interactions that cause the smaller Cupid to drift into a more dangerous orbit over this timescale.[5]

Following its discovery, Cupid was given the temporary designation S/2003 U 2.[3] It is also designated Uranus XXVII.[4]

It should not be confused with the asteroid 763 Cupido.

## References

1. ↑ Tanner & Barnet (1995) Comedies
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Showalter, Mark R.; Lissauer, Jack J. (2006-02-17). "The Second Ring-Moon System of Uranus: Discovery and Dynamics". Science 311 (5763): 973–977. doi:10.1126/science.1122882. PMID 16373533. Bibcode: 2006Sci...311..973S.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Showalter, Mark R.; Lissauer, Jack J. (September 25, 2003). "S/2003 U 1 and S/2003 U 2". IAU Circular 8209: 1. ISSN 0081-0304. Bibcode: 2003IAUC.8209....1S. http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iauc/08200/08209.html. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. July 21, 2006. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Page/Planets.
5. ↑ French, Robert S.; Showalter, Mark R. (August 2012). "Cupid is doomed: An analysis of the stability of the inner uranian satellites". Icarus 220 (2): 911–921. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.06.031. Bibcode: 2012Icar..220..911F.

## External links

* Hubble Uncovers Smallest Moons Yet Seen Around Uranus – Hubble Space Telescope news release (25 September 2003)

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Uranus (Outline of Uranus

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NASA image of Uranus

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* 2011 QF99
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* Voyager 2 (1986 flyby)

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Inner|

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