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Credit & Copyright: NASA, Voyager 2, Calvin J. Hamilton
Explanation:
What formed
Ariel's valleys?
This question presented itself when
Voyager 2
passed this satellite of
Uranus in January 1986.
Speculation includes that heating caused by the ancient tides of
Uranus caused moonquakes and massive shifting of the moon's surface. In any
event, a huge network of sunken valleys was found to cover this frozen
moon, and some unknown material now coats the bottoms of many of these
channels.
Ariel is the second closest to Uranus outside of
Miranda, and is
composed of roughly half water ice and half rock. Ariel was discovered by
William Lassell in 1851.
Information:
The
Scale of the Universe Debate in April 1996
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Uranus - valley
Publications with words: Uranus - valley
See also: