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PIA01351: Bright Patches on Ariel
 Target Name:  Ariel
 Is a satellite of:  Uranus
 Mission:  Voyager
 Spacecraft:  Voyager 2
 Instrument:  VG ISS - Narrow Angle
 Product Size:  1275 x 1275 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Producer ID:  P29479
 Addition Date:  1998-12-05
 Primary Data Set:  Voyager EDRs
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA01351.tif (51.65 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA01351.jpg (25.06 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

Distinct bright patches are visible on Ariel, the brightest of Uranus' five largest satellites. Voyager 2 obtained this image Jan. 22, 1986, from a distance of 2.52 million kilometers (1.56 million miles). The clear-filter image, obtained with the narrow-angle camera, shows a resolution of 47 km (29 miles). Ariel is about 1,300 km (800 mi) in diameter. This image shows several distinct bright areas that reflect nearly 45 percent of the incident sunlight; on average, the satellite displays a reflectivity of about 25-30 percent. The bright areas are probably fresh water ice, perhaps excavated by impacts. The south pole of Ariel is slightly off center of the disk in this view. Voyager 2 will obtain its best views of the satellite on Jan. 24, at a closest-approach distance of 127,000 km (79,000 mi). The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL

Image Addition Date:
1998-12-05