Puck (moon)

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Not to be confused with the character of which the moon was named after.
Puck
Synodic rotation period
synchronous[5]
zero[5]
Albedo
  • 0.11±0.015 (geometric)
  • 0.035±0.006 (Bond) at 0.55 μm[8]
Temperature~65 K[a]
20.5[9]

Puck the sixth-largest moon of

Shakespeare. The orbit of Puck lies between the rings of Uranus and the first of Uranus's large moons, Miranda. Puck is approximately spherical in shape and has diameter of about 162 km.[5] It has a dark, heavily cratered surface, which shows spectral signs of water ice.[10]

Discovery and naming

Puck—the largest inner moon of Uranus—was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on 30 December 1985. It was given the temporary designation S/1985 U 1.[11]

The moon was later named after the character

Puck
is a mischievous sprite, imagined as an evil demon by Christians.

It is also designated Uranus XV.[12]

Physical characteristics

Map of Puck

Puck is the largest

visible light of approximately 0.11.[8]

Of the moons discovered by the Voyager 2 imaging team, only Puck was discovered early enough that the probe could be programmed to image it in some detail.

prolate spheroid (ratio between axes is 0.93–1).[5] Its surface is heavily cratered[9] and is grey in color.[5] There are three named craters on the surface of Puck, the largest being about 45 km in diameter.[1] Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and large terrestrial telescopes found water-ice absorption features in the spectrum of Puck.[8][10]

Little is known about the internal structure of Puck. It is probably made of a mixture of

core and mantle.[1]

Named features

Puck has three craters named Bogle, Butz, and Lob, which are named after mischievous spirits from Scottish, German, and British folklore respectively. Details about these craters are currently unknown.

Named craters on Puck
Crater Coordinates Diameter (km) Approval date Named after Ref
Bogle — ~47 km[13] 1988 Bogle (Celtic) WGPSN
Butz — — 1988
Butz (German
)		 WGPSN
Lob — — 1988 Lob (English) WGPSN

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Calculated on the basis of other parameters.
  2. ^ Only two dimensions are known; the third dimension has been assumed to equal the other two.

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e Smith Soderblom et al. 1986.
  2. ^ "Puck". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Sedgwick (1999) Shakespeare and the young writer
  4. ^ a b Jacobson 1998.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Karkoschka, Voyager 2001.
  6. ^ a b French et al. 2024.
  7. ^ Jacobson (2023), as cited in French et al. (2024)[6]
  8. ^ a b c Karkoschka, Hubble 2001.
  9. ^ a b Thomas Veverka et al. 1987.
  10. ^ a b c Dumas Smith et al. 2003.
  11. ^ IAUC 4159.
  12. ^ USGS: Planet and Satellite Names and Discoverers.
  13. ^ a b c Cartwright et al. 2021.

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Puck (moon).

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