Astronomy:Verona Rupes
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Short description: Cliff on Miranda
[ ⚑ ] 18°18′S 347°48′E / 18.3°S 347.8°E[1]
Verona Rupes, right of center,[2] photographed by Voyager 2 in January 1986.
Verona Rupes is a cliff on Miranda, a moon of Uranus.[3] It was discovered by the Voyager 2 space probe in January 1986. The cliff face, previously thought to be from 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 mi)[4] high, is currently estimated to be 20 km (12 mi)[5] high as of 2016, which makes it the tallest known cliff in the Solar System.[6]
It may have been created by a major impact, which caused the moon to disrupt and reassemble,[3][6] or by the crust rifting.[7]
Given Miranda's low gravity, it would take about 12 minutes to fall from the top, reaching the bottom at the speed of about 200 km/h.[5]
References
- ↑ "Verona Rupes". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ↑ "PIA00044: Miranda high resolution of large fault". JPL, NASA. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00044.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Miranda". USGS. 2003-05-08. https://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/BrowseTheGeologicSolarSystem/MirandaBack.html.
- ↑ Thomas, P.C. (1988). "Radii, shapes, and topography of the satellites of Uranus from limb coordinates". Icarus 73 (3): 427–441. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(88)90054-1. Bibcode: 1988Icar...73..427T.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "APOD: 2016 November 27 - Verona Rupes: Tallest Known Cliff in the Solar System". http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161127.html.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chaikin, Andrew (2001-10-16). "Birth of Uranus' provocative moon still puzzles scientists". space.com. Imaginova Corp. pp. 1. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/miranda_creation_011016-1.html.
- ↑ Chaikin, Andrew (2001-10-16). "Birth of Uranus' provocative moon still puzzles scientists". space.com. Imaginova Corp. pp. 2. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/miranda_creation_011016-2.html.
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