ARC-1989-A89-7061

This photomosaic of Triton, assembled from 14 individual frames, shows the great variety of its surface features. At the bottom of the image are remnants of the south polar cap, containing 'dark' streaks generally aligned towards the northeast (upper right in the image). Even though these are darker than other features on Triton, they reflect nearly ten times as much light as the surface of the Earth's moon. North of the cap, in the western (left) half of the disk is the region which has been informally dubbed the 'cantaloupe' terrain. Small dimples with upraised rims and shallow central depressions dot the area. Long fractures have opened allowing some icy material to ooze up and form a central ridge. These criss-cross the region and extend into parts of the polar cap region. Towards the south this terrain has a light covering of frost. Running east to the limb of Triton, just north of the polar cap, is an area of smooth plains and low hills which is the most densely cratered region seen. In the northeast (upper right) of this image are plains which show evidence for extensive resurfacing, including possible extrusions of flowing material onto the surface. This region also contains two large smooth areas reminiscent of the maria of the Earth's moon which were formed by large-scale volcanic flooding. Near the eastern (right) limb of Triton are three darker gray markings with sharply defined brighter borders. These are unlike anything else seen in the solar system, and their origin is not yet understood.