Curie (Martian crater)

Curie Crater is an impact crater in the Oxia Palus quadrangle of Mars, located at 29.1° N and 4.8° W. It is 114.1 km in diameter and was named after Pierre Curie, a French physicist-chemist (1859-1906).[1]

Curie Crater

Curie Crater, as seen by HiRISE.
Planet	Mars
Coordinates	29.1°N 4.8°W / 29.1; -4.8
Diameter	114.1 km
Eponym	Pierre Curie, a French physicist-chemist (1859-1906)

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]

• 
  Curie Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter).
• 
  Channels in Curie Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Note: this is an enlargement of the previous image.
• 
  Close-up of layers in central mound of Curie Crater, as seen by HiRISE.
• 
  A topographic map created using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. This map shows the elevation of the central peak and rim of Curie crater relative to Martian areoid.

See also

• Impact crater
• Impact event
• List of craters on Mars
• Ore resources on Mars
• Planetary nomenclature
• Water on Mars

References

1. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Curie". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
2. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/slidesets/stones/
3. Hugh H. Kieffer (1992). Mars. University of Arizona Press. ISBN 978-0-8165-1257-7. Retrieved 7 March 2011.