Trinculo (moon) facts for kids
| Discovery | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovered by | Matthew J. Holman, John J. Kavelaars, Dan Milisavljevic |
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| Discovered in | August 13, 2001 | ||||||
| Orbital characteristics | |||||||
| Mean radius | 8,578,000 km | ||||||
| Eccentricity | 0.2079 | ||||||
| Orbital period | 759.03 d | ||||||
| Inclination | 167° (to the ecliptic) | ||||||
| Is a moon of | Uranus | ||||||
| Physical characteristics | |||||||
| Mean diameter | ~18 km (estimate) | ||||||
| Surface area | ~1000 km² (estimate) | ||||||
| Volume | ~3000 km3 (estimate) | ||||||
| Mass | ~7.5×1014 kg (estimate) | ||||||
| Mean density | ~1.5 g/cm3 (estimate) | ||||||
| Surface gravity | ~0.0021 m/s2 (estimate) | ||||||
| Escape velocity | ~0.0045 km/s (estimate) | ||||||
| Rotation period | ? | ||||||
| Axial tilt | ?° | ||||||
| Albedo | 0.04 (assumed) | ||||||
| Surface temp. |
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| Atmospheric pressure | 0 kPa | ||||||
Trinculo is one of the many moons orbiting the planet Uranus. It is a small, oddly shaped moon that travels around Uranus in a special way. Scientists discovered Trinculo in 2001.
Contents
About Trinculo
Trinculo is a small moon that goes around the planet Uranus. It is not perfectly round like Earth's Moon. Instead, it has an irregular shape. This moon is also known for its "retrograde" orbit. This means it travels around Uranus in the opposite direction compared to most other moons.
How Trinculo Was Found
Trinculo was discovered by a team of astronomers. These scientists included Matthew J. Holman, John J. Kavelaars, and Dan Milisavljevic. They found this moon on August 13, 2001. When it was first found, it was given a temporary name: S/2001 U 1. This name helped scientists keep track of new discoveries.
Why the Name Trinculo?
After its discovery, Trinculo was officially named Uranus XXI. All of Uranus's moons are named after characters from the plays of William Shakespeare or the poems of Alexander Pope. Trinculo got its name from a character in Shakespeare's play The Tempest. In the play, Trinculo is a funny, drunken jester.
Trinculo's Orbit and Size
Trinculo is quite far from Uranus. Its average distance is about 8.5 million kilometers. It takes about 759 Earth days for Trinculo to complete one full trip around Uranus. This is almost two years!
This moon is also very small. Scientists estimate its diameter to be about 18 kilometers. To give you an idea, that's roughly the size of a small city. Because it's so small, its gravity is very weak.
See also
In Spanish: Trínculo (satélite) para niños
