Researcher: Miranda, a moon of Uranus, has an ocean

Scientists have just found traces of a liquid water ocean beneath the surface of Miranda, an icy moon orbiting the planet Uranus. This amazing discovery opens up new possibilities in the search for life outside of Earth, especially on the icy moons around giant gas planets like Uranus.

Miranda, which is one of Uranus’ moons, attracted the attention of scientists after mapping results and tidal pressure models showed the potential for a liquid water ocean up to 100 kilometers thick beneath its surface.

This conclusion comes from a study that showed that the pressure and friction inside Miranda likely generates enough heat to keep liquid water below its ice level.

“Finding evidence of an ocean inside a small object like Miranda is really surprising,” said Tom Nordheim, a scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. “This opens up the possibility that some of Uranus’ other planets have hidden oceans that deserve further investigation.”

As the seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus is known for its unique features, such as its extreme tilt and bright infrared auroras in its atmosphere. The planet has nearly 30 moons, including Miranda, which was first photographed by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986.

The image shows Miranda’s rugged surface with deep cracks and grooves thought to have been created by tidal action.

This latest research also suggests that gravitational interactions between Miranda and Uranus’ other moons could cause tidal effects that stimulate internal friction, generating heat inside Miranda.

This heat is thought to be enough to maintain liquid water conditions below the surface, making Miranda similar to other icy moons in the solar system that are also believed to have subsurface oceans, such as Enceladus on Saturn .

“If Miranda’s oceans are as thick as expected, this moon could be a very interesting place to study,” the researchers explained. They also emphasized that these conditions could create an environment that could support microbial life.

Scientists hope that research missions such as the Jupiter ICy Moons Explorer (JUICE) and Europa Clipper, which are heading to the icy moons around Jupiter, can provide relevant data to better understand Miranda.

If confirmed, this discovery would be the basis for a wider exploration mission to the icy moons of Uranus, to investigate the possibility of subsurface oceans and the presence of life in the outer solar system.