While planets like Jupiter and Saturn might be known for having an extreme number of moons, with 95 and 146 orbiting each respectively. Uranus and Neptune’s numbers of natural satellites are increasing as well.
from Johns Hopkins and the University of North Dakota say the lunar object, named Miranda, has sources of water hidden below its surface.“To find evidence of an ocean inside a small object like Miranda is incredibly surprising,” said planetary scientist and researcher Tom Nordheim.
Using images taken by the deep space probe Voyager 2 in 1986, the “Frankenstein-like hodgepodge of grooved terrain” on Miranda’s southern hemisphere was reanalyzed to see if the rugged ground is the result of tidal forces interacting with the heating — or lack thereof — on the moon. Researchers believe that the ocean was the result of tidal forces pulling between the gravity of Miranda and other nearby moons of the planet. The friction from the tugging would be enough to create a heat source that kept the moon’s interior warm.Now, the research team speculates that Miranda’s insides have still not frozen fully over and an ocean still potentially exists below the surface to this day.
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