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You are here: Home / Space / What Is the Closest Moon To the Planet Uranus, Who Discovered Miranda, and Who Is the Moon Miranda Named After?

What Is the Closest Moon To the Planet Uranus, Who Discovered Miranda, and Who Is the Moon Miranda Named After?

February 18, 2020 by Karen Hill

Miranda, the closest of Uranus’s large moons, has a varied surface of craters, valleys, faults, ridges, and canyons.

Three large regions have ridges and valleys reminiscent of a plowed field.

One of the regions displays a large V-shape called a chevron.

A system of canyons, some as deep as 12 miles (19 km), can be seen on Miranda, as well as ice cliffs soaring 12 miles (20 km) high.

Astronomers believe that the varied land formations of this rocky, icy moon may have resulted from a number of severe collisions or the gravitational force of nearby Ariel.

Miranda was discovered by Gerard Kuiper at McDonald Observatory on the 16th of February, 1948.

In Kuiper’s report of the discovery, the moon was named after Miranda from William Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest”.

Related Facts

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  • Where did the Miranda Warnings come from and Who are the Miranda rights named after?
  • How Does the Moon Always Keep the Same Face Toward Earth?
  • What Causes the Phases Of the Moon and What Are the Different Phases Of the Moon Called?
  • When Was Uranus Discovered, How Did the Planet Uranus Get Its Name, and What Does Uranus Mean In Greek?
  • How Many Moons Does the Planet Uranus Have and When Were the Moons Orbiting Uranus Discovered?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Is the Eighth Planet In the Solar System and How Is the Planet Neptune Similar To the Other Gas Giants?
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