Ophelia and Cordelia
Date: 21 Jan 1986

Voyager 2 discovered two shepherd satellites -- Ophelia (1986U8) and Cordelia (1986U7) -- associated with the rings of Uranus. The image was taken 21 January 1986 at a distance of 4.1 million km (2.5 million miles) and at a resolution of about 36 km (22 mi).


The discovery of the two ring moons was a major advancement in our understanding of the structure of the Uranian rings and is in good agreement with theoretical predictions of how these narrow rings are kept from spreading out.


Last Update: 20 Jun 2011 (AMB)

Credit: NASA/JPL