TRITON - BUBEMBE REGIO © 1999

Methane ice wells up into the bottom of Kormet Sulci, a graben which runs through the Bubembe Region on Neptune’s moon Triton. Light colored nitrogen frost coats the top of the ice which has turned pink after bombarment by cosmic rays. The surface of the Bubembe Regio has been called the “cantalope terrain” because of its strange wrinkled appearance. It is one of the most unusual surfaces seen in the solar system, and is crossed by several grabens like the one depicted here. The layering visible in the walls of the graben record a history of seasonal changes on the surface of Triton. Most of the pits and rough textured terrain are caused by local melting and collapse of ice, not by meteorites as on other moons. Kormet Sulci is centered at 23° north latitude, 335° longitude on Triton.