Miranda - Grade: 100 PDF

Preview

Summary

assignment example ...

Description

Savreen Sodhi 218117366 NATS 1570 Elaine Hyde

Project Part 1: Scientific Method

Miranda: The Smallest Moon of Uranus Miranda is the innermost and smallest of the five major moons of Uranus with surface features unlike any other discovered moon. Its Image 1: Full surface consists of giant canyons, terraces layers, and three major observation of the smallest coronae. The surface of the moon is seemed to have experienced an moon of episode of intense resurfacing resulting in the formation of the three Uranus, unique surface features. Coronae are Miranda. quite visible in the southern hemisphere, and each extends up to 200km across (Astrobiology Magazine, 2014). Many scientists believe that the coronae are from a scenario of them being meteorite strikes which melted the ice subsurface of Miranda and resulting into the water rising to the surface and refreezing. I believe that the reason behind the surfaces of Miranda being uneven with canyons and unique features is due to a possible collision. Image 2: Coronae on the surface of Miranda in an oval shape, extended long in both length and width. The image has the three major coronae labelled a, b, c.

Identify the Problem: What caused Miranda to be known as one of the smallest with unique surface features moons of Uranus? The Data: Comparing the size of Miranda to Earth, it is 27 times smaller, helping put into contrast of how small this moon is. Comparing it to the second smallest moon of Uranus: Ariel, Miranda is 2.5 times smaller. Comparing the two-surface area, Miranda has a surface area of 698, 710.82 km square and Ariel has 4, 211, 307.59 km square (Solar System Exploration, 2018). Looking at the other four major moons of the planet, the difference in surface Image 4: The surface taken by voyager 2. area is not as great as the There are uneven surfaces with cliffs and tectonic plates. difference Miranda brings. For example, the surface area of the next moon Umbriel is roughly in the same size range of Ariel but way different than Miranda. The other moons vary in sizes that are similar with each other (Ariel and Umbriel) and (Titania and Oberon) but Miranda stands out because of how small it appears. The image on the left helps to put into contrast of how small the moon is compared to our home and the difference between the moons themselves. Image 3: Comparison of the sizes between the five major moons of Uranus and the Earth.

Also, when looking at the details of the surfaces other than the size, it can be seen that Miranda has cratered surfaces broken by cliffs up to 20km high (Exploring the Planets, n/a). There are also surfaces that appear very old, and others that look much younger. A lot of observations from the Voyager 2, brought back results that look similar as the image 4. Miranda looks as if it was pieced together and the parts didn’t merge together the best. The size of the moon is to be recorded as oneseventh of the Earth’s size and that means that it’s unlikely for it to support much tectonic activity at the moment (Solar System Exploration, 2019). Hypothesis: The moon of Uranus, Miranda has its small size and unique surface features because of a colossal collision that smashed it apart. Test the Hypothesis: To test the hypothesis, I gathered data including: the size of the Miranda compared to Earth, and the other major moons of Uranus. Miranda is still 27 times smaller than the Earth and 2.5 times smaller than Ariel, the next smallest moon of the planet. So, when comparing the two moon’s surface areas, Ariel had a bigger surface area by 3,512, 596.77 km square. The surface areas show that the moon Miranda might have been hit by something for the big difference in number. Seeing the difference in size not just with Ariel, but with the other major moons, the question again comes to mind of the size difference. The other moons vary in sizes that are similar with each other (Ariel and Umbriel) and (Titania and Oberon) but Miranda stands out because of how small it appears. Which is the reason someone can believe that there was some complex geological history. Next, I decided to look at the surface features of the moon and seen that there are cliffs, uneven layers, and three major Coronae (image 5). It was also recorded that some parts of the surface seem to be older than others, hypothesizing that there was a bigger impact of the collision on certain locations of Miranda than others. The image on the left shows how there are PICs (polygonal impact craters) on the surfaces. There are many features as such, but not all have been identified as PICs (Dr. Chloe B, 2020). The voyager sent to this moon recorded Miranda to be one-seventh of Earth, meaning that it cannot support much tectonic activity. I would assume with this scientific evidence that the moon has already gone under some sort of tectonic activity and the conditions can no longer withstand Image 5: Example of two identified PICs on Miranda. The image was taken by The Voyager 2.

Does the New Data Agree: Yes, the data agrees with my hypothesis that there could possibly have been a colossal collision that occurred causing the surface of the moon to appear rough and broken. Also, when considering the size, a collision can clearly explain why this moon is dramatically smaller than the others because of a hit that took chunks away from it. After researching, a lot of scientists came up with the scenario of the deformation patterns on the surface Miranda is due to the tidal forces from Uranus to periodically stretch and squeeze Miranda and generating heat in its ice shells (Hammond, 2014). This caused the coronae on the surfaces, so either the collision which I hypothesized caused the deforming of the surface and impacted the size, or another possible cause being the tidal heating. However, a collision could explain why it is so much smaller than the other moons a lot better.

In conclusion, the smallest moon of Uranus: Miranda, can be supported with scientific evidence to have gone through a collision explaining its size difference among the other moons and the unique surface features.

References

Websites: Dr. Chloe B. (2020). Polygonal Impact Craters on Miranda, Charon, and Dione. Planetary Geomorphology Image of the Month. Retrieved October 20, 2020 from: https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/polygonal-impact-craters-on-mirandacharon-and-dione/#more-1971. Exploring the Planets. (n/a). The Moons of Uranus. The Moons of Uranus | Exploring the Planets | National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved October 20, 2020 from: https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/exploring-the-planets/online/solar-system/uranus/moons.cfm. Hammond. (2014, September 20). Miranda: Tidal Heating Responsible for Current Appearance of Uranus’ Icy Moon. SciNews. Retrieved October 20, 2020 from: http://www.sci-news.com/space/science-miranda-tidal-heating-uranus-icy-moon-02161.html. Solar System Exploration. (2018). Umbriel vs. Earth. Solar System Exploration. Retrieved on October 21, 2020 from: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/uranus-moons/umbriel/by-the-numbers/. Solar System Exploration. (2018). Miranda vs. Earth. Solar System Exploration. Retrieved on October 21, 2020 from: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/uranus-moons/miranda/by-the-numbers/. Solar System Exploration. (2018). Miranda: In Depth. Solar System Exploration. Retrieved on October 21, 2020 from: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/uranus-moons/miranda/in-depth/.

Images: image 1: https://www.google.com/search? q=miranda+surfaces+tectnic+activity&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiA58bqv-XsAhVKJ6wKHV10DCgQ2-

cCegQIABAA&oq=miranda+surfaces+tectnic+activity&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1DukQRYpqoEYJqsBGgAcAB4A IABVogBngqSAQIxN5gBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=TtegX4CIH8rOsAXd6LHAAg &bih=968&biw=866#imgrc=y5V2xj5PJouklM. Date accessed: October 28, 2020. Image 2: https://www.google.com/search? q=miranda+surfaces+cornoae&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjd5KW2yuXsAhUIcqwKHez9BT0Q2cCegQIABAA&oq=miranda+surfaces+cornoae&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIECCMQJ1D6X1iDZ2DWZ2gAcAB4AI ABVogB2gSSAQE4mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=aeKgX52MK4jksQXs5foAw&bih=968&biw=866#imgrc=ZZGK2IKH_tSSGM. Date accessed: October 29, 2020.

Image3: https://www.google.com/search? q=size+comparison+of+ariel+and+umbriel&sxsrf=ALeKk03QVdALBesDHjNfrYNlER2Mij8TNw:1603906126 352&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA4qf359fsAhUEBs0KHTwvA4EQ_AUoAXoECAgQAw& biw=1068&bih=968#imgrc=7EHngREjzYzWbM\. Date accessed: October 29, 2020.

Image 4: https://www.google.com/search? q=miranda+coronae&sxsrf=ALeKk03fhvWqpcu_7bvhYRhEhGSDxzphA:1603999647609&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBi9ypxNrsAhUEOs0KHeLsAVIQ_AU oAXoECBAQAw&biw=934&bih=968&dpr=1.5#imgrc=5fpRe0HWyoU-0M. Date accessed: October 29, 2020. image 5: https://www.google.com/search? q=miranda+surfaces+tectnic+activity&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiA58bqv-XsAhVKJ6wKHV10DCgQ2cCegQIABAA&oq=miranda+surfaces+tectnic+activity&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1DukQRYpqoEYJqsBGgAcAB4A IABVogBngqSAQIxN5gBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=TtegX4CIH8rOsAXd6LHAAg &bih=968&biw=866#imgrc=YDpCfB3QBf47aM. Date accessed: October 29, 2020....