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Virga, Virgae

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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

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A descriptor term used in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature.

Definition

A streak or stripe of color (Owen et al. 2006; IAU Gazetteer 2014).

Origin of Term

Ray, band, streak, Latin.

History of Nomenclature

Approved in 2005 for surface features on Titan (Aksnes 2007).

Note: Virga is also a term for a type of rain that is supposed to occur on Titan (e.g., Griffith 2009). Virgae form streaks of rain droplets that evaporate in the atmosphere before reaching the ground (e.g., Wolfson 1988). Virgae (as features) on Titan are named after deities of rain (Owen et al. 2006).

See Also

Mid-Latitude Dark Linear Feature (Titan)

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References

  • Aksnes K (2007) Working group on planetar systems nomenclature. In: Engvold E (ed) Reports on astronomy. Proceedings IAU symposium no XXVIA, 2006, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. New York, Port Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town. pp 179–180

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  • Griffith CA (2009) Storms, polar deposits and the methane cycle in Titan’s atmosphere. Philos Trans R Soc A 367:713–728

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  • IAU Gazetteer (2014) Gazetter of planetary nomenclature. International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/

  • Owen TC, Aksnes K, Beebe R, Blue J, Brahic A, Burba GA, Smith BA, Tejfel VG (2006) Titan: nomenclature system and the very first names for one more world. Lunar Planet Sci XXXVII:1082, Houston

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  • Wolfson MM (1988) Characteristics of microbursts in the continental United States. Lincoln Lab J 1(1):49–74

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Planetary Science Research Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Henrik Hargitai

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  1. Henrik Hargitai
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Correspondence to Henrik Hargitai .

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Hargitai, H. (2014). Virga, Virgae. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_397-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_397-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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