21st satellite of Uranus

2002/10/29 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astronomia

This small point within the circle is the satellite 21 of Uranus. It has been called S/2001 U 1, a bit ugly regarding Miranda, Ariel, Titania or Oberon. They are also satellites of Uranus. It was detected in 2001, but in the oria it has been auriculated.

S/2001 U 1 and five other satellites present very irregular and eccentric orbits, besides being out of the plane orbiting the great satellites of Uranus. Its size ranges from 10 to 20 kilometers and is believed to be the remains of a shock that occurred in the youth of the planet.

According to researchers who have discovered, it is very difficult to detect such satellites, since they are not easily distinguished from the background stars. Object S/2001 U 1 was followed with several American telescopes to confirm that it was the Uranus satellite.