Image of Cordelia acquired by Voyager 2.

CORDELIA - MOON OF URANUS

Cordelia is named after the daughter of King Lear in Shakespeare's play "King Lear".

Cordelia was discovered in 1986 using images returned by Voyager 2

Orbit

Cordelia is Uranus' innermost satellite, orbiting at a distance of 49,750 kilometres. It completes an orbit in about eight hours. The orbit is nearly a perfect circle and has a very low inclination (0.1o) to Uranus' equatorial plane.

Physical properties

Cordelia is the smallest moon of Uranus, with a diameter of only 25 kilometres. The mass and density of Cordelia are unknown.

Interior

There is no information concerning the interior of Cordelia.

Magnetic field

No magnetic field has been detected.

Atmosphere

No atmosphere has been detected.

Surface

Cordelia is a dark moon, with an albedo of 0.07. Only 7% of sunlight hitting Cordelia's surface is reflected back into space. Cordelia, is, therefore, darker than a lump of charcoal.

Shepherd

Cordelia is a shepherd - that is, it is responsible for keeping Uranus' Epsilon ring in place. It shares this role with another Uranian moon, Ophelia.

More about Uranus' ring system.