Miranda: South Polar View | 11.6 | ||
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Mosaic of Voyager 2 images of Miranda (572 km diameter). The three visible coronae are named Arden (lower left), Inverness (lower centre) and Elsinore (upper right). Miranda's trailing hemisphere is on the right and its leading hemisphere is on the left. | ||
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Image Credit: NASA/USGS | |||
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Uranus' moon Miranda is shown in a computer-assembled mosaic of images obtained 24 January 1986, by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Miranda is the innermost and smallest of the five major Uranian satellites, just 480 kilometers in diameter. Nine images were combined to obtain this full-disc, south-polar view, which shows the varying geologic provinces of Miranda. The bulk of the photo comprises seven high-resolution images from the Voyager closest-approach sequence. Data from more distant, lower-resolution images were used to fill in gaps along the limb. | ![]() |
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. PIA01490 |
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