The Messina Chasmata/mɛˈsiːnəˈkæzmətə/ is the largest canyon or system of canyons on the surface of the Uranian moon Titania, named after a location in William Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing. The 1,492km (927mi) long feature includes two normal faults running NW–SE, which bound a down-dropped crustal block forming a structure called a graben. The graben cuts impact craters, which probably means that it was formed at a relatively late stage of the moon's evolution, when the interior of Titania expanded and its ice crust cracked as a result. The Messina Chasmata has only a few superimposed craters, which also implies being relatively young. The feature was first imaged by Voyager 2 in January 1986.
Notes
↑Length is labelled under "diameter" in the GPN database.
References
123"Messina Chasmata". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. (Center Latitude: -33.30°, Center Longitude: 335.00°; Planetocentric, +East)
↑
Croft, S.K. (March 1989). New Geologic Maps of the Uranian Satellites Titania, Oberon, Umbriel and Miranda. Proceeding of Lunar and Planetary Sciences. Vol.20. Lunar and Planetary Sciences Institute, Houston. p.205C. Bibcode:1989LPI....20..205C.