Puck (moon) - Definition and Overview

Puck

Discovery
Discovered by	Stephen P. Synnott / Voyager 2
Discovered on	December 30, 1985
Orbital characteristics
Mean radius	86004 km
Eccentricity	0.00005
Orbital period	0.76183d
Inclination	0.31°
Is a satellite of	Uranus
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	162 km
Surface area	km2
Mass	2.89×1018 kg
Mean density	1.3 g/cm3
Surface gravity	0.029 m/s2
Rotation period	?
Axial tilt	?°
Albedo	0.07
Surface temp.	min mean max K K K
Atmospheric pressure	0 kPa

Puck is a moon of Uranus. It was discovered by Voyager 2 in 1985. Little is known about it aside from its orbit, its size, and its low albedo (approximately 0.07).

Puck is the sixth-largest of Uranus' moons; it is intermediate in size between Miranda and Portia. Puck's orbit is also located between these two moons.

Most of the moons of Uranus are named after characters in the plays of William Shakespeare or the poems of Alexander Pope. In Celtic mythology and English folklore, a Puck is a mischievous sprite, imagined as an evil demon by Christians; the moon is named after the Puck who appears in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which he travels around the globe at night with the fairies.

See also: List of craters on Puck