Captured by the now legendary Voyager 2 mission, this picture of Miranda, a moon of Uranus, was enough to serve as inspiration for a new book, proving photography of all kinds is essential to creatives!
The book, A Truth Beyond Full, by Rosie Oliver, is a science fiction book about mining published by Elsewhen Press. Oliver is an engineer with 30 years of experience, and when she ran out of books to read in her favored genre, she started writing her own.
The photograph of Miranda was shot in January 1986 – and is a composite of nine separate images taken of the south polar view of the moon.
Miranda, or 'Uranus V', was first spotted in 1948 and has a number of puzzling features for astronomers, including an unusual orbital inclination for a moon so close to its planet.
Peter Buck, Editorial Director at Elsewhen Press, said: “Like the best science fiction, it was clearly written by someone who understood the underlying science – in this case mining and geology. We had no hesitation in choosing to publish it.”
The Voyager 2 probe has now left the solar system and is headed out into the universe at around 34,000 miles per hour. It will reach the influence of another star – Ross 248 – in about 40,000 years before continuing on toward Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.
It was one of two sent from Earth in different directions planned to pass by as many of the giant planets and their moons as possible; Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and a total of 48 moons, including Miranda.
Their route was to the outer planets so it was always known their flight path would eventually lead them out of the solar system, and in August 2012 Voyager 1 – launched in 1977, shortly after Voyager 2 – became the first man-made object to enter interstellar space.
Knowing this was their destiny, both craft famously carry a gold disc with images and recordings of humanity in case they are intercepted by an advanced species.
