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WHAT TO SEE
Miranda's surface is dominated by grooves hundreds of kilometres long, and ice cliffs 20 km high.
Violent history?
Astronomers originally believed that this moon had been smashed to pieces and reassembled earlier in its history. They thought that Miranda's rugged terrain was a result of heavier rocks sinking below the lighter ice crust.
But now astronomers think the giant features are partially melted ice rising up from beneath the satellite's surface.
Strange shape
Miranda is small and light. Because of its low mass, it's gravity is very weak. It's so weak that it doesn't even pull the world into a perfectly round ball.
This makes Miranda a lumpy, uneven rock. The shapes of objects in the Solar System can be classified into 'spherical' or 'irregular'. Miranda is just on the border between the two classes.
Unusual orbit
The planet Uranus is tipped on its side and rolls around its path. So its moons also orbit at right angles to the plane of the Solar System.
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TRAVEL INFORMATION
Before you leave
Because the path of the moons is at right angles to the movement of the rest of the planets, you'll need to plan your arrival on Ariel well.
Unless you want to use large quantities of fuel to change your velocity, it's best to make sure the moon you want to visit is crossing the plane of the other planets when you arrive.
LOCAL HISTORY
Many moons of Uranus are named after characters from William Shakespeare's plays. Miranda was named after the heroine in The Tempest.
Discovery
Miranda was discovered by Gerard Kuiper in 1948. He also discovered the Kuiper belt of comets.
SPOTTING MIRANDA FROM THE EARTH
Miranda was the smallest of the Uranian moons to have been discovered with an Earth-based telescope. It is not visible with the naked eye.
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