List of geological features on Ariel

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This list of geological features on Ariel itemizes the named geological features on the moon of Uranus called Ariel. Nearly all of the features are named for bright spirits of world mythologies. [1] All information in the tables below comes from the United States Geological Survey. [2]

Contents

Valleys

The grooves running along the median line of chasmata are called valles .

NameCoordinatesDiameter (km)Approval DateNamesakeRefs
Leprechaun Vallis 10°24′S10°12′E / 10.4°S 10.2°E / -10.4; 10.2 3281988 Leprechauns of Irish mythology WGPSN
Sprite Vallis 14°54′S340°00′E / 14.9°S 340°E / -14.9; 340 3051988 Sprites of Celtic mythology WGPSN

Chasms

Arielian graben are called chasmata .

NameCoordinatesLength (km)Approval DateNamesakeRefs
Brownie Chasma 16°00′S37°36′E / 16°S 37.6°E / -16; 37.6 3431988 Brownies (British folklore) WGPSN
Kachina Chasma 33°42′S246°00′E / 33.7°S 246°E / -33.7; 246 6221988 Kachina (Hopi mythology) WGPSN
Kewpie Chasma 28°18′S326°54′E / 28.3°S 326.9°E / -28.3; 326.9 4671988 Kewpie (British folklore) WGPSN
Korrigan Chasma 27°36′S347°30′E / 27.6°S 347.5°E / -27.6; 347.5 3651988 Korrigans (Breton folklore) WGPSN
Kra Chasma 32°06′S354°12′E / 32.1°S 354.2°E / -32.1; 354.2 1421988 Kra (Akan belief system) WGPSN
Pixie Chasma 20°24′S5°06′E / 20.4°S 5.1°E / -20.4; 5.1 2781988 Pixie (British folklore) WGPSN
Sylph Chasma 48°36′S353°00′E / 48.6°S 353°E / -48.6; 353 3491988 Sylph (British folklore) WGPSN

Craters

NameCoordinatesDiameter (km)Approval DateNamesakeRefs
Abans 15°30′S251°18′E / 15.5°S 251.3°E / -15.5; 251.3 201988 Aban (Persian mythology) WGPSN
Agape 46°54′S336°30′E / 46.9°S 336.5°E / -46.9; 336.5 341988Agape (Spenser) WGPSN
Ataksak 53°06′S224°18′E / 53.1°S 224.3°E / -53.1; 224.3 221988 Ataksak (Inuit mythology) WGPSN
Befana 17°00′S31°54′E / 17°S 31.9°E / -17; 31.9 211988 Befana (Italian folklore) WGPSN
Berylune 22°30′S327°54′E / 22.5°S 327.9°E / -22.5; 327.9 291988 Bérylune (Maurice Maeterlinck) WGPSN
Deive 22°18′S23°00′E / 22.3°S 23°E / -22.3; 23 201988 Deive (Lithuanian folklore) WGPSN
Djadek 12°00′S251°06′E / 12°S 251.1°E / -12; 251.1 221988 Djadek (Czech folklore) WGPSN
Domovoy 71°30′S339°42′E / 71.5°S 339.7°E / -71.5; 339.7 711988 Domovoi (Slavic mythology) WGPSN
Finvara 15°48′S19°00′E / 15.8°S 19°E / -15.8; 19 311988 Finvarra (Irish mythology) WGPSN
Gwyn 77°30′S22°30′E / 77.5°S 22.5°E / -77.5; 22.5 341988 Gwyn ap Nudd (Welsh mythology) WGPSN
Huon 37°48′S33°42′E / 37.8°S 33.7°E / -37.8; 33.7 401988 Huon of Bordeaux (French literature) WGPSN
Laica 21°18′S44°24′E / 21.3°S 44.4°E / -21.3; 44.4 301988 Laica (Incan mythology) WGPSN
Mab 38°48′S352°12′E / 38.8°S 352.2°E / -38.8; 352.2 341988 Queen Mab (English folklore) WGPSN
Melusine 52°54′S8°54′E / 52.9°S 8.9°E / -52.9; 8.9 501988 Melusine (French literature) WGPSN
Oonagh 21°54′S244°24′E / 21.9°S 244.4°E / -21.9; 244.4 391988 Oonagh (Irish mythology) WGPSN
Rima 18°18′S260°48′E / 18.3°S 260.8°E / -18.3; 260.8 411988 Rima (William Henry Hudson's Green Mansions ) WGPSN
Yangoor 68°42′S279°42′E / 68.7°S 279.7°E / -68.7; 279.7 781988 Yangoor (a good spirit who brings the daylight) WGPSN

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary nomenclature</span> System of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite

Planetary nomenclature, like terrestrial nomenclature, is a system of uniquely identifying features on the surface of a planet or natural satellite so that the features can be easily located, described, and discussed. Since the invention of the telescope, astronomers have given names to the surface features they have discerned, especially on the Moon and Mars. To found an authority on planetary nomenclature, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) was organized in 1919 to designate and standardize names for features on Solar System bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umbriel (moon)</span> Moon of Uranus

Umbriel is the third-largest moon of Uranus. It was discovered on October 24, 1851, by William Lassell. It was discovered at the same time as Ariel and named after a character in Alexander Pope's 1712 poem The Rape of the Lock. Umbriel consists mainly of ice with a substantial fraction of rock, and may be differentiated into a rocky core and an icy mantle. The surface is the darkest among Uranian moons, and appears to have been shaped primarily by impacts. However, the presence of canyons suggests early endogenic processes, and the moon may have undergone an early endogenically driven resurfacing event that obliterated its older surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhea (moon)</span> Moon of Saturn

Rhea is the second-largest moon of Saturn and the ninth-largest moon in the Solar System, with a surface area that is comparable to the area of Australia. It is the smallest body in the Solar System for which precise measurements have confirmed a shape consistent with hydrostatic equilibrium. It was discovered in 1672 by Giovanni Domenico Cassini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oberon (moon)</span> Moon of Uranus

Oberon, also designated Uranus IV, is the outermost and second-largest major moon of the planet Uranus. It is the second-most massive of the Uranian moons, and the tenth-most massive moon in the Solar System. Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, Oberon is named after the mythical king of the fairies who appears as a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Its orbit lies partially outside Uranus's magnetosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dione (moon)</span> Moon of Saturn

Dione, also designated Saturn IV, is the fourth-largest moon of Saturn. With a mean diameter of 1,123 km and a density of about 1.48 g/cm3, Dione is composed of an icy mantle and crust overlying a silicate rocky core, with rock and water ice roughly equal in mass. Its trailing hemisphere is marked by large cliffs and scarps called chasmata; the trailing hemisphere is also significantly darker compared to the leading hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titania (moon)</span> Largest moon of Uranus

Titania, also designated Uranus III, is the largest of the moons of Uranus. At a diameter of 1,578 kilometres (981 mi) it is the eighth largest moon in the Solar System, with a surface area comparable to that of Australia. Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, it is named after the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Its orbit lies inside Uranus's magnetosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ariel (moon)</span> Fourth-largest moon of Uranus

Ariel is the fourth-largest moon of Uranus. Ariel orbits and rotates in the equatorial plane of Uranus, which is almost perpendicular to the orbit of Uranus and so has an extreme seasonal cycle.

This is a directory of lists of geological features on planets excepting Earth, moons and asteroids ordered by increasing distance from the Sun.

In planetary nomenclature, a chasma is a deep, elongated, steep-sided depression. As of 2020, the IAU has named 122 such features in the Solar System, on Venus (63), Mars (25), Saturn's satellites Mimas (6), Tethys (2), Dione (8) and Rhea (5), Uranus's satellites Ariel (7), Titania (2) and Oberon (1) and Pluto's satellite Charon (3). An example is Eos Chasma on Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gertrude (crater)</span> Largest known impact crater on Titania

Gertrude is the largest known crater on Uranus's moon Titania. A peak-ring impact basin, it is roughly 326–400 kilometers across, 1/5 to 1/4 of Titania's diameter. Gertrude was first observed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft on its January 1986 flyby of the Uranian system. It is named after Gertrude, the mother of Prince Hamlet in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. The name Gertrude was officially adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1988. Features on Titania are named after female Shakespearean characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arsia Chasmata</span> Martian geographical feature

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messina Chasmata</span> Chasm system on Titania

The Messina Chasmata 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. The 1,492 km (927 mi)- long feature includes two normal faults running NW–SE, which bound a down-dropped crustal block forming a structure called a graben. The graben cuts impact craters, which probably means that it was formed at a relatively late stage of the moon's evolution, when the interior of Titania expanded and its ice crust cracked as a result. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kachina Chasmata</span>

The Kachina Chasmata are the longest known canyon or system of canyons on the surface of the Uranian moon Ariel. The name comes from a spirit in Hopi mythology. The 622 km long and 50 km wide chasmata arise from a system of normal faults running from the north-west to south-east. The faults bound down-dropped crustal blocks forming structures called graben. The canyons cut the cratered terrain, which means that they were formed at a relatively late stage of the moon's evolution, when the interior of Ariel expanded and its ice crust cracked as a result. The floor of the canyons is not visible on the images obtained by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in January 1986; thus, whether it is covered by smooth plains like the floors of other Arielian graben is currently unknown.

References

  1. Strobell, M.E.; Masursky, H. (1987). "New Features Named on the Moon and Uranian Satellites". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 18: 964–65. Bibcode:1987LPI....18..964S.
  2. "Nomenclature Search Results: Ariel". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. Retrieved 2010-11-29.