Messina Chasmata
Messina Chasma is the largest canyon on the surface of the Uranian moon Titania named after a location in William Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing.[1] The 1492 km long chasma is made of two normal faults running NW–SE, which bound a down-dropped crustal block forming a structure called graben.[2] The canyon cuts impact craters, which probably means that it was formed at a relatively late stage of the moon's evolution,[3] when the interior of Titania expanded and its ice crust cracked as a result.[4] Messina Chasma has only few crater superimposed on it, which also implies it is relatively young structure. The chasma was first imaged by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in January 1986.[2]
References
- ^ "Titania: Messina Chasmata". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ^ a b Smith, B.A. (1986). "Voyager 2 in the Uranian System: Imaging Science Results". Science. 233 (4759): 97–102. Bibcode:1986Sci...233...43S. doi:10.1126/science.233.4759.43. PMID 17812889.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Plescia, J.B. (1987). "Cratering history of the Uranian satellites: Umbriel, Titania and Oberon". Journal of Geophysical Research. 92 (A13): 14, 918–32. Bibcode:1987JGR....9214918P. doi:10.1029/JA092iA13p14918.
- ^ Croft, S.K. (1989). New geological maps of Uranian satellites Titania, Oberon, Umbriel and Miranda. Proceeding of Lunar and Planetary Sciences. Vol. 20. Lunar and Planetary Sciences Institute, Houston. p. 205C.
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