This 'family portrait' of Uranus' five largest moons was compiled from images sent back Jan. Which planetary system takes 84 years to orbit the Sun, has the most densely packed group of moons in the Solar System-some with suspected underground oceans-and has only been visited once by a spacecraft? Another hypothesis is that partly melted ice upwells forced new surfaces to emerge. One theory is that Miranda could have shattered as many as five times and was then reassembled. Since the mixing of ancient and recent surfaces is rare in planetary geology, scientists have postulated two explanations for the different ages of the numerous valleys and cliffs on Miranda. About half ice and half rock, Miranda's surface has terraced layers that indicate both older and new surfaces coexisting.

Fortunately, however, Voyager passed close enough to Miranda to provide scientists with fascinating photographs that captivated astronomers. Before Voyager, Miranda was largely ignored as it is not the largest moon and did not seem to have any other outstanding qualities. Due to the position of the entire Solar System, Miranda provided the energy to throw Voyager 2 to Neptune. Discovered in 1948 by Gerard Peter Kuiper, Miranda is named for the daughter of the wily Prospero in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest.' It is the eleventh known satellite of Uranus and the innermost large moon of Uranus It was necessary that Voyager 2 passed by Miranda, not for scientific reasons, but simply for the gravity assist it needed to go on to Neptune.

study this moon of Uranus in much greater detail than ever before. Flying by in early 1986, Voyager 2 captured this picture of Miranda, which enabled scientists to.

Oberon system mission