Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Bradford A. Smith / Voyager 2 |
Discovery date | January 23, 1986 |
Designations | |
Designation | Uranus VIII |
Pronunciation | /biˈæŋkə/ [1] |
Adjectives | Biancan [2] |
Orbital characteristics [3] | |
59165.550±0.045 km | |
Eccentricity | 0.00092 ± 0.000118 |
0.434578986 ± 0.000000022 d | |
Inclination | 0.19308 ± 0.054° (to Uranus' equator) |
Satellite of | Uranus |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 64 × 46 × 46 km [4] [note 1] |
~8400 km2 [a] | |
Volume | 70900±29.9% km3 [5] |
Mass | (6.38±1.91)×1016 kg [5] |
Mean
density | ≥0.79 g/cm3
[5] 0.90 g/cm3 (assumed) [5] |
~0.004–0.008 m/s2 [a] | |
~0.016–0.019 km/s [a] | |
synchronous [4] | |
zero [4] | |
Albedo | 0.08 ± 0.01
[6] 0.07 [7] [8] |
Temperature | ~64 K [a] |
|
Bianca is an inner satellite of Uranus. It was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on January 23, 1986, and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 9. [9] It was named after the sister of Katherine in Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew. It is also designated Uranus VIII. [10]
Bianca belongs to the Portia group of satellites, which also includes Cressida, Desdemona, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita. [6] These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties. [6] Other than its orbit, [3] size of 64 × 46 km, [4] and geometric albedo of 0.08 [6] virtually nothing is known about it.
In Voyager 2 images Bianca appears as an elongated object, the major axis pointing towards Uranus. The ratio of axes of the Bianca's prolate spheroid is 0.7±0.2. [4] Its surface is grey in color. [4]