Francisco is a moon of Uranus, part of the Solar System in the universe. Uranus is a planet associated with the Sun, our star, and this space encyclopedia describes the moon’s identity and place in its planetary system.

Francisco — A natural satellite of Uranus. Its physical properties and orbital motion are shown from the available catalogue and ephemeris data.

No object-specific chemical/elemental dataset has been verified and imported for this record. This does not mean none is publicly available. Appearance may be imagined; chemistry is not.

Discovery and designation
Francisco was discovered in 2001. JPL credits J.J. Kavelaars, M. Holman, D. Milisavljevic, T. Grav. Its provisional designation is S/2001 U3. The name and discovery entry identify this particular satellite of Uranus; similarly named asteroids are separate objects.

Francisco was discovered on Aug. 13, 2001 at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory by John J. Kavalaars, Matthew J. Holman, Dan Milisavljevic, and Tommy Grav.

Francisco is a very small, dark moon which orbits Uranus in the opposite direction from the regular moons and the planet's own rotation (a retrograde orbit). Though it orbits far from the planet (about 4.3 million km), it is the innermost moon of the irregular moons of Uranus.

Originally called S/2001 U3, Francisco was named after a character in William Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest." Francisco is a nobleman who is shipwrecked along with King Alonso (father of Ferdinand) and others.