The Mithrim Montes are a range of mountains on Titan, the largest

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

of the planet Saturn. The range is located near Titan's equator, between 1-3° south and 126-8° west International Astronomical Union
"Mithrim Montes"
''Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature''. Accessed Nov 14, 2012. and consists of three parallel ridges that are oriented east-west, spaced about 25 km apart. They are located within the region Xanadu. The highest peak is about high and is located on the southernmost of the ridges; it is the highest known peak on Titan. The Mithrim Montes are named after the Mithrim Mountains, a range in

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

's fictional world of

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...

. This follows a convention that Titanean mountains are named after mountains in Tolkien's work. The name was formally announced on November 13, 2012.Jennifer Blue
"Eight New Names for Titan Surface Features"
. ''USGS Astrologeology Science Center''. Nov 13, 2012.

References

See also