Miranda (moon) - Definition and Overview

Miranda

Discovery
Discovered by	Gerard Kuiper
Discovered in	1948
Orbital characteristics
Mean radius	129,872 km
Eccentricity	~0.0013
Orbital period	1.413479d
Inclination	4.34°
Is a satellite of	Uranus
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	471.6 km
Surface area	km2
Mass	6.59×1019 kg
Mean density	1.20 g/cm3
Surface gravity	0.079 m/s2
Rotation period	1.413479 days
Axial tilt	?°
Albedo	0.34
Surface temp.	86 K
Atmospheric pressure	0 kPa

Miranda is the smallest and innermost of Uranus' major moons. It is named after Prospero's daughter in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.

Miranda's surface may be mostly water ice, with the low density body being made of silicate rock and methane-related organic compounds. Miranda's surface is criss-crossed by huge canyons up to 20 kilometres (12 miles) deep, with patchwork regions of broken terrain indicating intense geological activity in the moon's past. It is thought that this activity is likely powered by tidal forces from Uranus, but another theory suggests that Miranda was at some point struck by a massive object that partially shattered the moon.

Scientists recognize the following geological features on Miranda:

• Craters
• Coronae (large ovoid features)
• Regiones (geological regions)
• Rupes (scarps)
• Sulci (parallel grooves)

See: List of geological features on Miranda

External links:

• Kuiper, Gerard P., "The fifth satellite of Uranus", PASP 61 (1949) 129 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/PASP./0061//0000129.000.html)
• http://www.solarviews.com/eng/miranda.htm
• http://www.nineplanets.org/miranda.html