Fractured Crater on Mars
This perspective image of a fractured crater near Valles Marineris on Mars was obtained by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the ESA Mars Express spacecraft.
The image was taken during orbit 61 in January 2004 with a resolution of 12. 5 metres per pixel. It shows part of a cratered landscape to the north of the Valles Marineris, at 0.6? S latitude and 309? E longitude, with this crater having a fractured base.
This crater has a rim diameter of 27.5 kilometres and is about 800 metres deep. It is not known yet how these fractures are generated. On Earth, polygonal fractures may occur in contracting material, which breaks at weak zones. For example, we may see this appearing in cooled lava, dried clay or frozen ground.
Original Source: ESA News Release
Recent Posts
Astronomers Find a Black Hole Tipped Over on its Side
Almost every large galaxy has a supermassive black hole churning away at its core. In…
NASA is Developing Solutions for Lunar Housekeeping’s Biggest Problem: Dust!
Through the Artemis Program, NASA will send the first astronauts to the Moon since the…
Where’s the Most Promising Place to Find Martian Life?
New research suggests that our best hopes for finding existing life on Mars isn’t on…
Can Entangled Particles Communicate Faster than Light?
Entanglement is perhaps one of the most confusing aspects of quantum mechanics. On its surface,…
IceCube Just Spent 10 Years Searching for Dark Matter
Neutrinos are tricky little blighters that are hard to observe. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory in…
Star Devouring Black Hole Spotted by Astronomers
A team of astronomers have detected a surprisingly fast and bright burst of energy from…