Two Moons of Uranus Might Crash Into Each Other.
A new paper
predicts that two of the moons of Uranus are on a collision course with each
other. Desdemona and Cressida, two small moons, are on pace for a crash in
approximately a million years.
The
collision was predicted by a study uploaded to arVix by
two researchers at the University of Idaho and one from Wellesley College.
Uranus is the fourth-largest planetary mass in the solar system and has both a
ring system and a remarkable 27 moons in orbit. The moons are divided into 13
inner moons, 5 major moons, and 9 irregular moons. Mankind's first real
encounter with most of these moons was not until the 1986 Voyager 2 flyby.
The
researchers were studying the ring system when they noticed an odd orbit. It
wasn't round or elliptical, but instead resembled a triangle. The odd shape,
according to the study, is because of one of the inner moons, Cressida. Named
after a title character in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, the
moon Cressida's gravitational pull is exaggerated because it keeps pace with
Uranus itself, and that extra pull makes the rings slightly triangular.
Troilus and
Cressida is a tragedy, and the same can be said for the moon's
gravitational pull. That pull, which gives the Uranian ring system a unique
quality, is also pulling Cressida closer and closer to Desdemona, another inner
moon named after a Shakespeare character. The two currently orbit a mere 559
miles (900 km) apart from each other, and the gravitational pull will
ultimately cause a collision, according to the study.
Beyond their
eventual destruction, we know virtually nothing about Desdemona or Cressida.
But a closer study of Uranus (and its sibling ice giant, Neptune), might give a
better understanding of its numerous and fascinating moons.
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