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"Chevron" Grooves
Date: 24 Jan 1986
This image of Miranda, obtained by Voyager 2 on approach, shows an unusual "chevron" figure and regions of distinctly differing terrain on the Uranian moon. Voyager was 42,000 km (26,000 miles) away when its narrow-angle camera acquired this clear-filter view. Grooved areas baring light and dark bands, distinct from other areas of mottled terrain, are visible at this resolution of about 600 m (2,000 feet). The bright V-shaped feature in the grooved areas is the "chevron'" observed in earlier, lower-resolution images. Cutting across the bands are sinuous scarps, probably faults. Superimposed on both types of terrain are many bowl-shaped impact craters less than 5 km (3 mi) wide. The entire picture spans an area about 220 km (140 mi) across.
What Scientists/Engineers Say About This Image:
"One particular image taken by Voyager of Uranus' icy moon Miranda fascinates me. It is the image of Miranda's 'chevron.' This image attests to what Voyager found in that even a tiny moon like Miranda -- it is only 500 km across, which is about as big as the state of Arizona -- has been geologically active. This was out of the realm of possibility, it seemed, when Voyager was launched. And so this image brings us to the outer reaches of the solar system and the bizarre processes there."
--Robert Pappalardo: Senior Research Scientist, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Last Update: 7 March 2012 (AMB)
Credit: NASA/JPL
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