Miranda (moon) facts for kids
Miranda is one of the moons that orbit the planet Uranus. It is the smallest of Uranus's five main moons. It also spins the fastest. An astronomer named Gerard Kuiper found Miranda in 1948. He named it after a character, Miranda, from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. Sometimes people also call it Uranus V.
Miranda is known as one of Uranus's most unusual moons. Its surface looks very complex. Scientists think this might be because its inside partly melted. This could have caused icy material to move up to the surface.
The probe Voyager 2 took many pictures of Miranda in 1986. These are the only images we have of this moon so far. Miranda is the most geologically active body in the Uranus system. This means its surface has changed a lot over time.
Miranda's Unique Surface
Miranda has deep grooves and troughs on its surface. These can be several kilometers (or miles) deep. They show different types of material, which reflect light differently. These features suggest that Miranda has had a long and complex geological history.
Images for kids
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Voyager 2 image of Miranda's broken terrain. Verona Rupes, thought to be the highest cliffs in the Solar System, are located at the bottom right of Miranda.
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Close-up of Verona Rupes, a large fault scarp on Miranda possibly 20 km (12 mi) high, taken by Voyager 2 in January 1986
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Close-up of the ring of concentric fault scarps around Elsinore Corona
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The three coronae imaged on Miranda by Voyager 2
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The fault scarps around Elsinore (top right) and the chevrons of Inverness Corona (bottom left)
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See also
In Spanish: Miranda (satélite) para niños
