Sycorax was discovered on 6 September 1997 by Brett J. Gladman, Philip D. Nicholson, Joseph A. Burns, and John J. Kavelaars using the 200-inch Hale Telescope, together with Caliban.

[1] Officially confirmed as Uranus XVII, it was named after Sycorax, Caliban's mother in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.

The satellite appears light-red in the visible spectrum (colour indices B–V = 0.87 V–R = 0.44,[13] B–V = 0.78 ± 0.02 V–R = 0.62 ± 0.01,[12] B–V = 0.839 ± 0.014 V–R = 0.531 ± 0.005[9]), redder than Himalia but still less red than most Kuiper belt objects.

However, in the near infrared, the spectrum turns blue between 0.8 and 1.25 μm[clarification needed] and finally becomes neutral at the longer wavelengths.

[7] The rotation axis of Sycorax is unknown, though measurements of its light curve suggest it is being viewed at a near equator-on configuration.