Perdita

Perdita

Perdita entered the planetary stage when it was discovered on December 18, 1986, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft during its momentous flyby of Uranus. Named after a character from William Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale," this moon is characterized by its relatively small size, boasting an estimated diameter of approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles). In terms of its orbital attributes, Perdita maintains a moderate orbit around Uranus and is categorized as an inner moon. What sets it apart is its orbit, which is both inclined and retrograde, signifying that it orbits Uranus in the opposite direction of the planet's rotation. The precise composition and origins of Perdita remain subjects of ongoing scientific inquiry. However, it is believed to be predominantly composed of water ice and rocky materials, a composition frequently encountered among many moons in the outer solar system. Its formation may have been the result of gradual material accretion near Uranus or could be associated with capture from more distant regions, such as the Kuiper Belt or the scattered disk. Perdita belongs to a group of inner moons of Uranus, sharing its orbital neighborhood with other small moons like Belinda and Cupid.