Miranda
Miranda
Moon of Uranus
Miranda facts
- Orbits
- Uranus
- Distance from Uranus
- 129,900 km (5.1 Uranus-radii)
- Orbital period
- 1.4 days
- Diameter
- 472 km
- Mass
- 6.4 × 10¹⁹ kg
- Orbital inclination
- 4.34°
- Tidally locked
- Yes
- Discovered
- 1948, by Gerard Kuiper
Miranda orbits Uranus
Watch Miranda (highlighted) circle Uranus. Press play; the moons run at their real relative speeds.
Relative sizes and spacing are compressed; orbits shown coplanar. Click a moon for its page.
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About Miranda
Miranda is the smallest of Uranus's five major moons but has some of the most dramatic terrain anywhere: a jumbled patchwork of ridges, grooves, and Verona Rupes, a cliff up to 20 km high, the tallest known in the Solar System. It looks like a world torn apart and reassembled.
- Named after the heroine of Shakespeare's The Tempest
- Discovered: 1948, by Gerard Kuiper
Miranda: frequently asked questions
- What is Miranda?
- Miranda is the smallest of Uranus's five major moons but has some of the most dramatic terrain anywhere: a jumbled patchwork of ridges, grooves, and Verona Rupes, a cliff up to 20 km high, the tallest known in the Solar System.
- What planet does Miranda orbit?
- Miranda orbits Uranus at an average distance of about 129,900 km, completing one lap every 1.4 days.
- How big is Miranda?
- Miranda has a diameter of about 472 km and a mass of roughly 6.4 × 10¹⁹ kg.
- Why is Miranda famous?
- Miranda's claim to fame: has some of the most extreme terrain in the Solar System, including Verona Rupes, a cliff up to 20 km high.
See Miranda in motion
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Data from NASA/JPL and NSSDCA. Source.