Bianca (moon)

:"There is also an asteroid called 218 Bianca." Infobox Planet
name = Bianca
bgcolour = #ffc0c0
discovery = yes
discoverer = Bradford A. Smith / "Voyager 2"
discovered = January 23, 1986
mean_orbit_radius = 59,165.550 ± 0.045 kmcite journal|last=Jacobson|first=R.A.|title=The Orbits of the Inner Uranian Satellites From Hubble Space Telescope and Voyager2 Observations|journal=The Astronomical Journal|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998AJ....115.1195J|year=1998|volume=115|pages=1195–1199|doi=10.1086/300263]
eccentricity = 0.00092 ± 0.000118
period = 0.434578986 ± 0.000000022 d
inclination = 0.19308 ± 0.054° (to Uranus' equator)
satellite_of = Uranus
physical_characteristics = yes
dimensions = 64 × 46 × 46 kmcite journal|last=Karkoschka|first=Erich|authorlink=Erich Karkoschka|title=Voyager's Eleventh Discovery of a Satellite of Uranus and Photometry and the First Size Measurements of Nine Satellites|journal=Icarus|volume=151|pages=69–77|year=2001| doi=10.1006/icar.2001.6597|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001Icar..151...69K]
mean_radius = 27 ± 2 km
surface_area = ~8300 km²Calculated on the basis of other parameters]
volume = ~71,000 km³
mass = ~9.2e|16 kg
density = ~1.3 g/cm³ (assumed)
surface_grav = ~0.0086 m/s²
escape_velocity = ~0.022 km/s
rotation = synchronous
axial_tilt = zero
albedo = 0.08 ± 0.01 cite journal|last=Karkoschka|first=Erich|authorlink=Erich Karkoschka|title=Comprehensive Photometry of the Rings and 16 Satellites of Uranus with the Hubble Space Telescope|journal=Icarus|volume=151|pages=51–68|year=2001|doi=10.1006/icar.2001.6596| url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001Icar..151...51K]
single_temperature = ~64 K

Bianca "(bee-aang'-kə," IPAEng|biˈɑŋkə) is an inner satellite of Uranus. It was discovered from the images taken by "Voyager 2" on 1986-01-23, and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 9. [cite web|last=Smith|first=B. A.|title=IAU Circular No. 4168|date=1986-01-27|url= http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/04100/04168.html#item1|accessdate=2006-08-06] It was named after the sister of Katherine in Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew". It was named Peaseblossom by its discoverers after a fairy in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, however due to a nomenclature conflict between the USA and the USSR the name Bianca was quietly chosen by the IAU a few years after the moon's discovery. [http://www.seti.org/news/features/moon-by-any-other-name.php] It is also designated Uranus VIII.cite web|title=Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers|work=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature|publisher=USGS Astrogeology|date=2006-07-21|url=http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/append7.html|accessdate=2006-08-06] .

Bianca belongs to Portia Group of satellites, which also includes Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita. These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties. Unfortunately, other than its orbit, radius of 27 km and geometric albedo of 0.08 virtually nothing is known about it.

At the Voyager 2 images Bianca appears as an elongated object, the major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axises of the Bianca's prolate spheroid is 0.7 ± 0.2. Its surface is grey in color.

References

External links

* [http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Ura_Bianca Bianca Profile] by [http://solarsystem.nasa.gov NASA's Solar System Exploration]