Verona Rupes

Coordinates: 18°18′S 347°48′E / 18.3°S 347.8°E / -18.3; 347.8[1]

Verona Rupes, right of center.[2]

Verona Rupes is a cliff on Miranda, a moon of Uranus.[3] The cliff face has been estimated to be from 5 to 10 kilometers (3 to 6 mi)[4] high, which makes it the tallest known cliff in the Solar System.[5]

It may have been created by a major impact, which caused the moon to disrupt and reassemble,[3][5] or by the crust rifting.[6]

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 kph. Even so, the fall might be survivable given proper airbag protection.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Verona Rupes". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ "PIA00044: Miranda high resolution of large fault". JPL, NASA. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  3. 1 2 "Miranda". USGS. 2003-05-08. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
  4. ↑ "Radii, shapes, and topography of the satellites of Uranus from limb coordinates". Icarus. 73: 427–441. Bibcode:1988Icar...73..427T. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(88)90054-1.
  5. 1 2 Chaikin, Andrew (2001-10-16). "Birth of Uranus' provocative moon still puzzles scientists". space.com. Imaginova Corp. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  6. ↑ Chaikin, Andrew (2001-10-16). "Birth of Uranus' provocative moon still puzzles scientists". space.com. Imaginova Corp. p. 2. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  7. ↑ "APOD: 2016 November 27 - Verona Rupes: Tallest Known Cliff in the Solar System". apod.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2016-11-27.


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