Campbell (Martian crater)

Campbell Crater is an impact crater in the Eridania quadrangle of Mars, located at 54.7°S latitude and 165.6°E longitude. It is 129.0 km in diameter and was named after Canadian physicist John W. Campbell and American astronomer William Wallace Campbell, and the name was approved in 1973 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN).[1]

This article is about the crater on Mars. For the crater on the Moon, see Campbell (lunar crater).
Campbell Crater
MOLA map showing location of Campbell Crater in relation to other craters. Colors indicate elevations. Campbell is on top of the map
PlanetMars
RegionEridania quadrangle
Coordinates54.7°S 165.6°E / -54.7; 165.6
Diameter129 km
EponymWilliam Wallace Campbell
Campbell Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter).
Dust devil tracks, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Note: this is an enlargement of the previous image of Campbell Crater.

Dust devil tracks have been seen in Campbell Crater. Many areas on Mars experience the passage of giant dust devils. These dust devils leave tracks on the surface of Mars because they disturb a thin coating of fine bright dust that covers most of the Martian surface. When a dust devil goes by it blows away the coating and exposes the underlying dark surface. Within a few weeks, the dark track assumes its former bright color.

See also

References
  1. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Campbell". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
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