Desdemona (moon)

Desdemona is an inner moon of Uranus. It was discovered on January 13, 1986, from images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The moon is named after Desdemona, the wife of Othello in William Shakespeare's play Othello.

Desdemona is a small moon, with an average radius of approximately 32 km (20 mi). Its surface is dark and heavily cratered, reflecting only a small percentage of the sunlight that strikes it. The surface characteristics are poorly understood due to the lack of high-resolution imagery.

Desdemona orbits Uranus at a distance of about 62,659 km (38,935 mi), completing one orbit in approximately 0.47 Earth days. It is part of the Portia group of moons, which also includes Bianca, Cressida, Juliet, Portia, Rosalind, Cupid, Belinda and Perdita. These moons have similar orbits and spectral properties. They are believed to have formed from the breakup of a larger moon.

Desdemona is predicted to eventually collide with another moon in the Portia group. The orbital dynamics of these inner Uranian moons are complex, and their future evolution is uncertain. However, simulations suggest that Desdemona's orbit is unstable and it will likely either collide with another moon (most likely Cressida or Juliet) or fall into Uranus within the next 100 million years.