Macula (planetary geology)

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The Ganesa Macula on Titan is the large circular spot in the lower left of this image which was thought to be an ice volcano.

Macula Template:IPAc-en<ref>Template:OED</ref> (pl. maculae Template:IPAc-en) is the Latin word for 'spot'. It is used in planetary nomenclature to refer to unusually dark areas on the surface of a planet or moon.<ref name=gazetteer_terms/> They are seen on the icy surfaces of Pluto, Jupiter's moon Europa, Saturn's moon Titan, Neptune's moon Triton, and Pluto's moon Charon. The term was adopted for planetary nomenclature when high resolution pictures of Europa revealed unusual new surface features.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Links

• Lists of named maculae: on Europa, on Titan, on Triton

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