Crater In Utopia Planitia, Mars
by Nasa
Title
Crater In Utopia Planitia, Mars
Artist
Nasa
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
This HiRISE image shows an unnamed impact crater located in Utopia Planitia; this crater is more than 10 kilometers (6.25 miles) in diameter and 700 meters (765 yards) deep. Different features in and around this crater may indicate fluid beneath the surface. Linear features radiating outward from the crater's rim are evident in the upper right and lower right parts of this image. Closer examination shows these features are formed by rocks and finer soils that are located along a straight line; they are "spokes" produced immediately after the impact by very fast outward-moving materials ejected from the impact. Because these ejecta came from deep under the crater, their composition will tell us what type of rocks are under the surface. Elsewhere in this crater, ridges transition laterally to ripples and fissures of similar orientation. One possible explanation for these ridges, ripples, and fissures could be creep. Creep is slow downhill movement of slope soils that are held together somehow, maybe cemented by ice or some other agent.
Uploaded
March 13th, 2013
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