Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2020 November 29

            Verona Rupes: Tallest Known Cliff in the Solar System
                        Image Credit: Voyager 2, NASA

   Explanation: Could you survive a jump off the tallest cliff in the
   Solar System? Quite possibly. Verona Rupes on Uranus' moon Miranda is
   estimated to be 20 kilometers deep -- ten times the depth of the
   Earth's Grand Canyon. Given Miranda's low gravity, it would take about
   12 minutes for a thrill-seeking adventurer to fall from the top,
   reaching the bottom at the speed of a racecar -- about 200 kilometers
   per hour. Even so, the fall might be survivable given proper airbag
   protection. The featured image of Verona Rupes was captured by the
   passing Voyager 2 robotic spacecraft in 1986. How the giant cliff was
   created remains unknown, but is possibly related to a large impact or
   tectonic surface motion.

                  Tomorrow's picture: a starless space swan
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

--- hpt/lnx 1.9.0