Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2026 February 9
      [2]An unusual gray body looks like a more jaggged version of the
   Earth's moon, but close up. Craters and stripes run across much of the
     surface. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                              Miranda Revisited
     Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JPL, [5]Voyager 2; Processing & License:
    Flickr: [6]zelario12; Text: [7]Keighley Rockcliffe ([8]NASA [9]GSFC,
                      [10]UMBC [11]CSST, [12]CRESST II)

   Explanation: What is Miranda really like? Visually, [13]old images from
   NASA's [14]Voyager 2 have been recently combined and remastered to
   result in the [15]featured image of [16]Uranus's 500-kilometer-wide
   moon. In the late 1980s, [17]Voyager 2 flew by [18]Uranus, coming close
   to the [19]cratered, fractured, and unusually grooved moon -- named
   after a [20]character from [21]Shakespeare’s [22]The Tempest.
   Scientifically, planetary scientists are using old data and clear
   images to [23]theorize anew about what shaped Miranda's [24]severe
   surface features. [25]A leading hypothesis is that [26]Miranda, beneath
   its icy surface, may have once hosted an expansive liquid water ocean
   which may be slowly freezing. Thanks to the legacy of Voyager 2,
   [27]Miranda has joined the ranks of [28]Europa, [29]Titan, and other
   icy moons in the [30]search for water, and, possibly, microbial
   [31]life, in our [32]Solar System.

                Jigsaw Moon: [33]Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
                      Tomorrow's picture: swirling sky
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [45]Robert Nemiroff ([46]MTU) & [47]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([48]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [49]Specific rights apply.
            [50]NASA Web Privacy, [51]Accessibility, [52]Notices;
                A service of: [53]ASD at [54]NASA / [55]GSFC,
                         [56]NASA Science Activation
                           & [57]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2602/Miranda_Voyager2Zelario12_2320.jpg
   3. http://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-2/
   6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/197038812@N04/
   7. https://kerockcliffe.com/
   8. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/keighley.e.rockcliffe
   9. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
  10. https://physics.umbc.edu/research/astrophysics/
  11. https://csst.umbc.edu/directory/
  12. https://cresst2.umd.edu/
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap951224.html
  14. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-2/
  15. https://www.flickr.com/photos/197038812@N04/53467048107/
  16. https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_2
  18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus
  19. https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/miranda-fractures-grooves-and-craters/
  20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_(The_Tempest)
  21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare
  22. https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/the-tempest/read/
  23. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ad77d7
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201129.html
  25. https://www.jhuapl.edu/news/news-releases/241028-uranus-moon-miranda-with-ocean-beneath-surface-new-study
  26. https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/moons/miranda/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020216.html
  28. https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-moons/europa/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230331.html
  30. https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/domestic-life-pet-naughty-cat-600nw-2325351833.jpg
  31. https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/can-we-find-life/
  32. https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/solar-system-facts/
  33. https://www.scigames.org/apps/webjigsaw2/index.php
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260208.html
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  40. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  43. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260209
  44. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260210.html
  45. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  46. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  47. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  48. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  49. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  50. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  51. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  52. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  53. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  54. https://www.nasa.gov/
  55. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  56. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  57. http://www.mtu.edu/