A moon around Uranus may have had an ocean 100 miles deep, new study finds

Scientists think one of Uranus' moons may once have had an ocean roughly 100 miles deep — about 40 times deeper than the Pacific Ocean — and could still possibly hold remnants of it.

New computer simulations suggest Ariel, Uranus ' fourth-largest moon, might have developed an ocean when its orbit was more stretched like an oval in space . If that had happened, Uranus' gravity would have produced tidal forces strong enough to generate internal heat in Ariel, melting part of its icy crust.

That stress could explain mysterious cracks and other surface deformities that can be observed on the moon today, said Caleb Strom, first author of the research that appeared in the journal Icarus . Those features — wide canyons, long fractures, and smooth refrozen plains — were first see