: ''There is also an

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the Solar System#Inner solar system, inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic o ...

called 218 Bianca.'' Bianca is an inner satellite of

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars), grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter) and father of Cronu ...

. It was discovered from the images taken by ''

Voyager 2 ''Voyager 2'' is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. As a part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, ''Voyager 1'', on ...

'' on January 23, 1986, and was given the temporary designation S/1986 U 9. It was named after the sister of Katherine in Shakespeare's play ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

''. It is also designated Uranus VIII. Bianca belongs to the Portia group of satellites, which also includes

Cressida Cressida (; also Criseida, Cresseid or Criseyde) is a character who appears in many Medieval and Renaissance retellings of the story of the Trojan War. She is a Trojan woman, the daughter of Calchas, a Greek seer. She falls in love with Troil ...

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...

, Portia, Rosalind,

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known in L ...

, Belinda and

Perdita Perdita (Italian for "loss", from Latin for "lost woman"), may refer to: People * Perdita Barran, English chemist * Perdita Buchan (born 1940), Anglo-American author * Perdita Felicien (born 1980), Canadian track athlete * Perdita Huston (1936� ...

. These satellites have similar orbits and photometric properties. Other than its orbit, radius of 27 km, and geometric albedo of 0.08 virtually nothing is known about it. In ''

'' 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. Its surface is grey in color.

References

Explanatory notes Citations

External links

Bianca Profile
b
NASA's Solar System Exploration

(by Scott S. Sheppard) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bianca (Moon) Moons of Uranus 19860123 Moons with a prograde orbit The Taming of the Shrew

See also

References

External links