This color composite of the Uranian satellite Miranda was taken by Voyager 2 on Jan. 24, 1986, from a distance of 147,000 kilometers (91,000 miles). This picture was constructed from images taken through the narrow-angle camera's green, violet and ultraviolet filters. It is the best color view of Miranda returned by Voyager. Miranda, just 480 km (300 mi) across, is the smallest of Uranus' five major satellites. Miranda's regional geologic provinces show very well in this view of the southern hemisphere, imaged at a resolution of 2.7 km (1.7 mi). The dark- and bright-banded region with its curvilinear traces covers about half of the image. Higher-resolution pictures taken later show many fault valleys and ridges parallel to these bands. Near the terminator (at right), another system of ridges and valleys abuts the banded terrain; many impact craters pockmark the surface in this region. The largest of these are about 30 km (20 mi) in diameter; many more lie in the range of 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 mi) in diameter. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Voir l'image PIA00042: Miranda - Highest Resolution Color Picture sur le site de la NASA.
This computer-assembled mosaic of Miranda includes many of the high-resolution frames obtained by Voyager 2 during its close flyby of the Uranian moon. Miranda, roughly 500 kilometers (300 miles) in diameter, exhibits varied geologic provinces, seen in this mosaic of clear-filter, narrow-angle images from Jan. 24, 1986. The images were obtained from distances of 30,160 to 40,310 km (18,730 to 25,030 mi); resolution ranges from 560 to 740 meters (1,840 to 2,430 feet). These are among the highest-resolution pictures that Voyager has obtained of any of the new "worlds" it has encountered during its mission. On Miranda, ridges and valleys of one province are cut off against the boundary of the next province. Probable compressional (pushed-together) folded ridges are seen in curvilinear patterns, as are many extensional (pulled-apart) faults. Some of these show very large scarps, or cliffs, ranging from O.5 to 5 km (O.3 to 3 mi) in height -- that is, higher that the walls of the Grand Canyon on Earth. The missing piece of Miranda's surface will be included in a later mosaic once more complicated computer processing can be completed. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Miranda, innermost of Uranus' large satellites, is seen at close range in this Voyager 2 image, taken Jan. 24, 1986, as part of a high-resolution mosaicing sequence. Voyager was some 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) away from Miranda. This clear-filter, narrow-angle image shows an area about 250 km (150 mi) across, at a resolution of about 800 meters (2,600 feet). Two distinct terrain types are visible: a rugged, higher-elevation terrain (right) and a lower, striated terrain. Numerous craters on the rugged, higher terrain indicate that it is older than the lower terrain. Several scarps, probably faults, cut the different terrains. The impact crater in the lower part of this image is about 25 km (15 mi) across. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Voir l'image PIA01354: Uranus' Innermost Satellite Miranda sur le site de la NASA.
Miranda's surface consists of two strikingly different major types of terrain. One is an old, heavily cratered, rolling terrain with relatively uniform albedo, or reflectivity. The other is a young, complex terrain characterized by sets of bright and dark bands, scarps and ridges features found in the ovoid regions at the top and bottom and in the distinctive "chevron" feature above and to the right of center.
Final image processing was done by the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz. Special navigational data used to improve Voyager's camera pointing were also used to "control" or register the images in the assembly of the mosaic; the data were generated by means of new techniques developed by JPL's Navigation Ancillary Information Facility. The images were projected onto a global sinusoidal map base. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Voir l'image PIA01490: South Polar View of Miranda sur le site de la NASA.
Mosaic of high-resolution images of Miranda. One wide-angle and eight narrow-angle camera images of Miranda were combined in this view. The controlled mosaic was transformed to an orthographic view centered on the south pole. The trapezoidal region (about 200 km on a side) occurs near the south pole and is located near the center of the mosaic. The trapezoid's outer boundary and its internal patterns of ridges and band of contrasting albedo display numerous sharp corners.
Voir l'image PIA02217: Miranda sur le site de la NASA.
This "family portrait" of Uranus' five largest moons was compiled from images sent back Jan. 20, 1986, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The pictures were taken through a clear filter from distances of 5.0 million to 6.1 million kilometers (3.1 million to 3.8 million miles). In this comparison, we see the relative sizes and relativities of the satellites. From left, in order of increasing distance from the planet, they are Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. The two largest, Oberon and Titania, are about half the size of Earth's Moon, or roughly, 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) in diameter. Miranda, smallest of the five, has about one-quarter to one-third the diameter. Even in these distant views, the satellites exhibit distinct differences in appearance. On average, Oberon and Titania reflect about 20 percent of the sunlight, Umbriel about 12 percent, Ariel and Miranda about 30 percent. Ariel shows the largest contrast on its surface, with the brightest areas about 25 percent. All five satellites show only slight color variations on their surfaces, with their average color being very nearly gray. The best views of the satellites will be obtained Jan. 24, the day of closest approach. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Voir l'image PIA01975: Uranus - Family Portrait sur le site de la NASA.
View of Miranda showing light and dark banded scarps near the boundary of the banded ovoid and a deep graben that bounds the ovoid in this region.
Voir l'image PIA02218: Miranda sur le site de la NASA.
This Voyager 2 image of Miranda was taken Jan. 23, 1986, as the spacecraft neared Uranus. This image was acquired from a distance of 1.38 million kilometers (860,000 miles) through the clear filter of Voyager's narrow-angle camera. Miranda is the innermost of the five Uranian satellites known from Earth-based observations. Images from the Jan. 24 closest approach to Miranda should reveal in greater detail the region toward the bottom of this view, where a sinuous bright marking crosses a circular dark area. These features lie between a bright (high-albedo) region at left and a region of average albedo at right. Miranda is about 500 km (300 mi) in diameter; the resolution of this image is about 26 km (16 mi). The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Voir l'image PIA01980: Uranus Satellite - Miranda sur le site de la NASA.