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.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference USGS: Uranus: Oberon: Mommur was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Croft 1989 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Smith Soderblom et al. 1986 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).