Mommur Chasma

Voyager 2 image of Oberon showing Mommur Chasma near the limb at upper right.

Mommur Chasma is the largest 'canyon' on the known part of the surface of Uranus' moon Oberon.^[1] This feature probably formed during crustal extension at the early stages of moon's evolution, when the interior of Oberon expanded and its ice crust cracked as a result.^[2] The canyon is an example of graben (rift valley) or scarp produced by normal fault(s). The chasma was first imaged by Voyager 2 spacecraft in January 1986.^[3]

The Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature states that Mommur Chasma is named after the forest home of the fairy king Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream.^[1] In fact, Oberon's home is not named in Shakespeare's play; it appears instead in the French epic Huon of Bordeaux.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Oberon: Mommur". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3958. Retrieved 2009-03-06. 
2. ^ Croft, S.K. (1989). "New geological maps of Uranian satellites Titania, Oberon, Umbriel and Miranda". 20. Lunar and Planetary Sciences Institute, Houston. p. 205C. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1989LPI....20..205C. 
3. ^ Smith, B. A.; Soderblom, L. A. et al. (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.  edit