November 14 2024
By Minseo Kim
Until now, Uranus has been one of the least recognized planets in the solar system, but it's starting to gain popularity as its moons become hot potatoes. This is due to claims that it may have had an ocean named 'Miranda'.
Miranda is a cold planet with an average temperature below minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit, so it's hard to believe it could have had an ocean, as a team from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory explained.
“Orbital changes caused by gravitational interactions between Miranda and another moon, Uranian, may have generated heat inside Miranda, which may have created deep oceans in the past. Miranda may have had an ocean as much as 100 kilometers thick under a crust that is about 30 kilometers thick.”
In this expansive universe, the remains of Uranus' ocean may hold hints of life, which is why scientists are eager to send probes to the distant planet.