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 March 31
   [2]A half-lit moon is shown that is unfamiliar. The moon appears mostly
     gray but with some light patches. Two large craters appear near the
     terminator, and some large cracks are also evident. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

                       Uranus's Largest Moon: Titania
        Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]Voyager 2; Processing & [5]License:
                                [6]zelario12

   Explanation: Titania's tortured terrain is a mix of canyons, cliffs,
   and craters. [7]NASA's interplanetary robot spacecraft [8]Voyager 2
   passed the largest moon of [9]Uranus in 1986 and took the [10]feature
   picture. That the [11]trenches of Titania resemble those on another
   moon of Uranus, [12]Ariel, indicate that Titania underwent some violent
   surface event possibly related to water [13]freezing and expanding in
   its distant past. Although Titania is Uranus's largest moon, it is only
   about half the radius of [14]Triton - the largest moon of Uranus's
   sister planet [15]Neptune, which itself is [16]slightly smaller than
   [17]Earth's Moon. [18]Titania, discovered by [19]William Herschel in
   1787, is essentially a large dirty iceball that is composed of about
   half water-ice and half rock. There is recent [20]speculation that
   [21]radioactive heating melts some underground ice into oceans.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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    Authors & editors: [33]Robert Nemiroff ([34]MTU) & [35]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([36]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [37]Specific rights apply.
            [38]NASA Web Privacy, [39]Accessibility, [40]Notices;
                A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC,
                         [44]NASA Science Activation
                           & [45]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2603/Titania_Voyager2_960.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-2/
   5. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
   6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/197038812@N04/
   7. https://www.nasa.gov/
   8. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-2/
   9. https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/
  10. https://www.flickr.com/photos/197038812@N04/53515363728/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000930.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960303.html
  13. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024LPICo3040.1034B/abstract
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140826.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210725.html
  16. https://imgur.com/little-kitten-meets-big-dog-ODwrS
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251004.html
  18. https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/moons/titania/
  19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Herschel
  20. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/new-study-of-uranus-large-moons-shows-4-may-hold-water/
  21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decay_heat
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260330.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  28. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  31. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260331
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260401.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  36. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  44. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  45. http://www.mtu.edu/