Messina Chasmata

The Messina Chasmata /mɛˈsiːnə ˈkæzmətə/ are the largest canyon or system of canyons 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 feature includes two normal faults running NW–SE, which bound a down-dropped crustal block forming a structure called a graben.[2] The graben 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] The Messina Chasmata have only a few superimposed craters, which also implies being relatively young. The feature was first imaged by Voyager 2 in January 1986.[2]

The Messina Chasmata are near the center of this Voyager 2 image of Titania.

References
  1. USGS/IAU (October 1, 2006). "Messina Chasmata on Titania". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  2. Smith, B. A.; Soderblom, L. A.; Beebe, A.; Bliss, D.; Boyce, J. M.; Brahic, A.; Briggs, G. A.; Brown, R. H.; Collins, S. A. (4 July 1986). "Voyager 2 in the Uranian System: Imaging Science Results". Science. 233 (4759): 43–64. Bibcode:1986Sci...233...43S. doi:10.1126/science.233.4759.43. PMID 17812889.
  3. Plescia, J. B. (December 30, 1987). "Cratering history of the Uranian satellites: Umbriel, Titania and Oberon". Journal of Geophysical Research. 92 (A13): 14, 918–14, 932. Bibcode:1987JGR....9214918P. doi:10.1029/JA092iA13p14918. ISSN 0148-0227.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  4. Croft, S.K. (March 1989). New Geologic Maps of the Uranian Satellites Titania, Oberon, Umbriel and Miranda. Proceeding of Lunar and Planetary Sciences. 20. Lunar and Planetary Sciences Institute, Houston. p. 205C. Bibcode:1989LPI....20..205C.


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