Photometry of the Uranian Satellites with Keck and the Search for Mab

Abstract

We present photometric properties of six small (radii <100 km) satellites of Uranus based on 32 H -band (1.49–1.78 μ m) images taken on 2015 August 29 from the Keck II Telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii with the near-infrared camera NIRC2 coupled to the adaptive optics system. The sub-observer latitude of our observations was 32°, i.e., we view much of the satellites’ north poles, in contrast to the 1986 Voyager measurements. We derive reflectivities based on mean-stacking measurements of these six minor moons of Uranus. We find that the small satellites are significantly brighter than in previous observations, which we attribute to albedo variations between hemispheres. We also search for Mab, a small satellite with an unknown surface composition, orbiting between Puck and Miranda. Despite the significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio we achieved, we could not detect Mab. We suggest that Mab is more similar to Miranda, an icy body, than to the inner rocky moons. Assuming Mab is spherical with a radius of 6 km, as derived from Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) observations if its reflectivity is ∼0.46, we derive a 3 σ upper limit to its reflectivity [ I / F ] of 0.14 at 1.6 μ m.