Moon of Uranus
Miranda
Uranus's patchwork moon with the tallest cliffs.
Miranda is the innermost and smallest of Uranus's five major moons, orbiting every 1.41 days. Unlike the others, its orbit is tilted a few degrees from Uranus's equator. Because Uranus lies on its side, Miranda and its siblings orbit almost perpendicular to the planet's path around the Sun.
How it moves
- Miranda orbits Uranus every 1.413 days at about 129,900 km.
- Its orbit is inclined 4.34 degrees to Uranus's equator, the most of the five major moons.
- It is tidally locked to Uranus.
- Its orbit follows Uranus's sideways equator, so it is tipped nearly at right angles to the planets' orbits.
Facts
- Mean radius
- 235.8 km
- Mass
- 6.600e+19 kg
- Surface gravity
- 0.077 m/s²
- Rotation period
- 33.923 hours
- Orbital period
- 1.413 days
- Average orbital distance
- 129,900 km
- Eccentricity
- 0.0013
- Discovered
- February 16, 1948, by Gerard P. Kuiper
A rock dropped off Miranda's highest cliff would take about 10 minutes to reach the bottom.
Sources: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov, ssd.jpl.nasa.gov, ssd.jpl.nasa.gov