Miranda (moon)
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Gerard Kuiper |
Orbital characteristics | |
129,390 km | |
Eccentricity | 0.0013 |
1.413479 days | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 480 × 468.4 × 466.8 km |
235.8 km | |
698,000 km² | |
Volume | 55,000,000 km³ |
Mass | 6.59×10^19 kg |
Mean density | 1.214 g/cm³ |
0.079 m/s² | |
0.192 km/s | |
synchronous | |
4.338° | |
Albedo | 0.32 |
Miranda is the smallest and innermost of Uranus's five major moons. It was discovered by Gerard Kuiper on February 16, 1948, at the McDonald Observatory. Miranda is named after a character from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.
Physical characteristics[edit | edit source]
Miranda has a diameter of about 471 kilometers, making it the smallest of Uranus's major moons. It has a low density of 1.214 g/cm³, indicating that it is composed primarily of water ice with a small amount of rock.
Surface features[edit | edit source]
Miranda's surface is one of the most varied and extreme in the Solar System, with huge canyons, terraced layers, and a mixture of old and young surfaces. The most prominent features are the so-called "coronae," which are large, oval-shaped regions characterized by ridges and valleys. The largest of these is named Arden Corona, which is about 300 kilometers in diameter.
Orbit and rotation[edit | edit source]
Miranda orbits Uranus at a distance of about 129,390 kilometers. It has a nearly circular orbit with an eccentricity of 0.0013 and an orbital period of approximately 1.413 days. Miranda is in synchronous rotation with Uranus, meaning that it always shows the same face to the planet.
Exploration[edit | edit source]
Miranda was visited by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in January 1986. The images and data returned by Voyager 2 provided the first detailed look at Miranda's surface and revealed its complex geology.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
Search WikiMD
Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound) available.
Advertise on WikiMD
WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia |
Let Food Be Thy Medicine Medicine Thy Food - Hippocrates |
Translate this page: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
தமிழ்,
తెలుగు,
Urdu,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
বাংলা
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
Greek,
português do Brasil,
polski,
română,
русский,
Nederlands,
norsk,
svenska,
suomi,
Italian
Middle Eastern & African
عربى,
Turkish,
Persian,
Hebrew,
Afrikaans,
isiZulu,
Kiswahili,
Other
Bulgarian,
Hungarian,
Czech,
Swedish,
മലയാളം,
मराठी,
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ,
ગુજરાતી,
Portuguese,
Ukrainian
WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. See full disclaimer.
Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.
Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD