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Escalante (Martian crater)

Coordinates: 0°12′N 244°42′W / 0.2°N 244.7°W / 0.2; -244.7
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Escalante Crater
Escalante Crater Wall, as seen by HiRISE. Picture on left is enlargement of the one on right. Scale bar is long.
PlanetMars
Coordinates0°12′N 244°42′W / 0.2°N 244.7°W / 0.2; -244.7
QuadrangleAmenthes
EponymMexican astronomer F. Escalante

Escalante Crater is an impact crater in the Amenthes quadrangle of Mars. It is located at 0.2° N and 244.7° W. It is 79.3 km (49.3 mi) in diameter, and was named after Mexican astronomer (c. 1930) Francisco Javier Escalante Plancarte [es].[1]

This topographic map was created using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) technology on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. This image is a screenshot of RedMapper's website and shows the rim and center of Escalante crater

Impact craters generally have a rim with ejecta around them, in contrast volcanic craters usually do not have a rim or ejecta deposits. As craters get larger (greater than 10 km in diameter) they usually have a central peak.[2] The peak is caused by a rebound of the crater floor following the impact.[3] If one measures the diameter of a crater, the original depth can be estimated with various ratios. Because of this relationship, researchers have found that many Martian craters contain a great deal of material; much of it is believed to be ice deposited when the climate was different.[4] Sometimes craters expose layers that were buried. Rocks from deep underground are tossed onto the surface. Hence, craters can show us what lies deep under the surface.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Feature 1841. USGS. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  2. ^ "Stones, Wind, and Ice: A Guide to Martian Impact Craters".
  3. ^ Hugh H. Kieffer (1992). Mars. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1257-7. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  4. ^ Garvin, J., et al. 2002. Global geometric properities of martian impact craters. Lunar Planet Sci. 33. Abstract @1255.