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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
JPL,
Voyager 2;
Processing & License: Flickr:
zelario12;
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe
(NASA
GSFC,
UMBC
CSST,
CRESST II)
Explanation:
What is Miranda really like?
Visually,
old images from NASA's
Voyager 2 have been recently combined and
remastered to result in the
featured image of
Uranus's 500-kilometer-wide moon.
In the late 1980s,
Voyager 2
flew by
Uranus, coming close to the
cratered, fractured, and unusually grooved moon --
named after a
character from
ShakespeareÁs
The Tempest.
Scientifically, planetary scientists are using old data and clear images to
theorize anew about what shaped Miranda's
severe surface features.
A leading hypothesis is that
Miranda, beneath its icy surface, may have once hosted an
expansive liquid water ocean which may be slowly freezing.
Thanks to the legacy of Voyager 2,
Miranda has joined the ranks of
Europa,
Titan,
and other icy moons in the
search for water,
and, possibly, microbial
life, in our
Solar System.
Jigsaw Moon:
Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
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January February |
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Uranus - Voyager
Publications with words: Uranus - Voyager
See also: