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Saturnalia Fossae
Saturnalia Fossae is a series of parallel Veneneian troughs in the northern hemisphere of the giant asteroid 4 Vesta. It is thought to be a shock fractures resulting from the impact that created Veneneia crater, which it is concentric with. It is one of the longer chasms in the Solar System. Observation and naming Saturnalia Fossae, as with most Vestian features, was first observed upon the arrival of the ''Dawn'' orbiter in July 2011. Initially, only the largest and most prominent trough was named, then called ''Saturnalia Fossa''. Later, the name came to encompass all troughs in the network, with the largest trough later being designated ''Saturnalia Fossa A''. The trough system is named after the Roman festival of Saturnalia; the name ''Saturnalia Fossae'' was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on 27 December 2011. Geology and characteristics Saturnalia Fossae is located in Vesta's northern hemisphere. It is one of two major trough syste ...
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4 Vesta
Vesta (minor-planet designation: 4 Vesta) is one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, with a mean diameter of . It was discovered by the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers on 29 March 1807 and is named after Vesta (mythology), Vesta, the virgin goddess of home and hearth from Roman mythology. Vesta is thought to be the second-largest asteroid, both by mass and by volume, after the dwarf planet Ceres (dwarf planet), Ceres. Measurements give it a nominal volume only slightly larger than that of 2 Pallas, Pallas (about 5% greater), but it is 25% to 30% more massive. It constitutes an estimated 9% of the mass of the asteroid belt. Vesta is the only known remaining rocky protoplanet of the kind that formed the terrestrial planets. Numerous fragments of Vesta were ejected by collisions one and two billion years ago that left two enormous craters occupying much of Vesta's southern hemisphere. Debris from these events has fallen to Earth as HED meteorite, howardi ...
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Dawn (spacecraft)
''Dawn'' is a retired space probe that was launched by NASA in September 2007 with the mission of studying two of the three known protoplanets of the asteroid belt: Vesta and Ceres. In the fulfillment of that mission—the ninth in NASA's Discovery Program—''Dawn'' entered orbit around Vesta on July 16, 2011, and completed a 14-month survey mission before leaving for Ceres in late 2012. It entered orbit around Ceres on March 6, 2015. In 2017, NASA announced that the planned nine-year mission would be extended until the probe's hydrazine fuel supply was depleted. On November 1, 2018, NASA announced that ''Dawn'' had depleted its hydrazine, and the mission was ended. The derelict probe remains in a stable orbit around Ceres. ''Dawn'' is the first spacecraft to have orbited two extraterrestrial bodies, the first spacecraft to have visited either Vesta or Ceres, and the first to have orbited a dwarf planet. The ''Dawn'' mission was managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ...
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Saturnalia
Saturnalia is an Roman festivals, ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the List of Roman deities, god Saturn (mythology), Saturn, held on 17 December in the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities until 19 December. By the 1st century BC, the celebration had been extended until 23 December, for a total of seven days of festivities. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Ancient Roman culture, Roman social norms: Dice#History, gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their Slavery in ancient Rome, slaves as it was seen as a time of liberty for both slaves and freedmen alike. A common custom was the election of a "King of the Saturnalia", who gave orders to people, which were followed and presided over the merrymaking. The gifts exchanged were usually practical joke device ...
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Veneneia
Veneneia is the second-largest impact crater on asteroid 4 Vesta, at 52°S latitude. 'Vesta seems more planet than asteroid'
''Science News'', 2012 Mar 22
in diameter, it is 70% of the equatorial diameter of the asteroid, and one of the largest craters in the Solar System. It is at least 2 billion years old, and possibly as old as 4.2 billion years. However, it is overlain and partially obliterated by the even larger Rheasilvia. It was discovered by the
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Trough (geology)
In geology, a trough is a linear structural depression that extends laterally over a distance. Although it is less steep than a ''trench'', a trough can be a narrow basin or a geologic rift. These features often form at the rim of tectonic plates. There are various oceanic troughs on the ocean floors. Examples of oceanic troughs * Benue Trough * Cayman Trough * Hesperides Trough * Kings Trough * Mariana Trough * Nankai Trough * Northumberland Trough * Okinawa Trough in the East China Sea * Rockall Trough and others along the rift of the mid-oceanic ridge * Salton Trough * South Shetland Trough * Suakin TroughDinwiddie, Robert et al. (2008) ''Ocean: The World's Last Wilderness Revealed'', London, Dorling Kindersley, page 452. in the Red Sea * Timor Trough See also * Oceanic basin * Thalweg * Walker Lane The Walker Lane is a geologic trough roughly aligned with the California/Nevada border southward to where Death Valley intersects the Garlock Fault, a ...
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List Of Largest Rifts And Valleys In The Solar System
Following are the longest, widest, and deepest rifts and valleys in various worlds of the Solar System. List See also * List of Solar System extremes ** List of largest craters in the Solar System ** List of tallest mountains in the Solar System ** List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System References {{Solar System table Solar System Rifts and valleys, largest in the Solar System * Extraterrestrial valleys Rifts and grabens Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ... rifts canyons valleys Rifts, canyons and valleys ...
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International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and development through global cooperation. It was founded on 28 July 1919 in Brussels, Belgium and is based in Paris, France. The IAU is composed of individual members, who include both professional astronomers and junior scientists, and national members, such as professional associations, national societies, or academic institutions. Individual members are organised into divisions, committees, and working groups centered on particular subdisciplines, subjects, or initiatives. the Union had 85 national members and 12,734 individual members, spanning 90 countries and territories. Among the key activities of the IAU is serving as a forum for scientific conferences. It sponsors nine annual symposia and holds a triannual General Assembly that sets policy ...
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Divalia Fossae
Divalia Fossae is the large series of parallel equatorial troughs on the giant asteroid 4 Vesta. It is one of the longest chasms in the Solar System, stretching across roughly two-thirds of Vesta's equator. The trough system is named after the Roman festival of Divalia; the name ''Divalia Fossae'' was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on 27 December 2011. Geology Divalia Fossae is one of Vesta's two major trough systems, with the other being Saturnalia Fossae. Divalia Fossae consists of numerous—in some regions, up to seven—parallel troughs ranging from a few hundred meters to about 20.5 kilometers in diameter. The troughs run roughly parallel to Vesta's equator, encircling roughly two-thirds of the body. Divalia Fossae terminates at the cratered highlands of Vestalia Terra. Divalia Fossae in turn overlaps the troughs of Saturnalia Fossae, meaning that Divalia Fossae is the younger of the two trough systems; in 2021, a team of planetary sc ...
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Veneneia (crater)
Veneneia is the second-largest impact crater on asteroid 4 Vesta, at 52°S latitude. 'Vesta seems more planet than asteroid'
''Science News'', 2012 Mar 22
in diameter, it is 70% of the equatorial diameter of the asteroid, and one of the List of largest craters in the Solar System, largest craters in the Solar System. It is at least 2 billion years old, and possibly as old as 4.2 billion years. However, it is overlain and partially obliterated by the even larger Rheasilvia. It was discovered by the Dawn (spacecraft), ''Dawn'' spacecraft in 2011. It is named after ''Venēneia'', one of the founding vestal virgins.
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Crater Counting
Crater counting is a method for estimating the age of a planet's surface based upon the assumptions that when a piece of planetary surface is new, then it has no impact craters; impact craters accumulate after that at a rate that is assumed known. Consequently, counting how many craters of various sizes there are in a given area allows determining how long they have accumulated and, consequently, how long ago the surface has formed. The method has been calibrated using the ages obtained by radiometric dating of samples returned from the Moon by the Luna programme, Luna and Apollo program, Apollo missions. It has been used to estimate the age of areas on Mars and other planets that were covered by lava flows, on the Moon of areas covered by giant lunar mare, mares, and how long ago areas on the Moons of Jupiter, icy moons of Jupiter and Moons of Saturn, Saturn flooded with new ice. Crater counting and secondary craters The crater counting method requires the presence of independent ...
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Extraterrestrial Valleys
Extraterrestrial may refer to: Science * Extraterrestrial life, life that occurs outside of Earth and that probably did not originate from Earth Media * ''Extraterrestrial'' (TV program), a program on the National Geographic Channel * '' Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth'', 2021 popular science book by Avi Loeb * ''Extraterrestrial'' (2011 film), a 2011 Spanish film by Nacho Vigalondo * ''Extraterrestrial'' (2014 film), a 2014 American film by Colin Minihan and written by The Vicious Brothers * ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', a 1982 film by Steven Spielberg * Extraterrestrials in fiction Music * "Extraterrestrial" (song), a 2018 song by Tynan and Kompany * ''Extraterrestrial'' (album), a 2020 album by Joker Xue * Extraterrestrial World Tour by Joker Xue, 2021-2025 See also * * ET (other) * Alien (other) * Starman (other) * Spaceman (other) * Terrestrial (other) * Offworld (other) Offworl ...
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