Rutherford (Martian crater)

Rutherford is an impact crater on Mars. It is located the Oxia Palus quadrangle inside Arabia Terra at 19.2° N and 10.7° W. and measures approximately 107 kilometers in diameter. The crater was named after British physicist Ernest Rutherford in 1973.[1]

This article is about the crater on Mars. For the lunar crater, see Rutherford (lunar crater).
Rutherford Crater
Topographic location of Rutherford Crater
PlanetMars
Coordinates19.2°N 10.7°W / 19.2; -10.7
Diameter107.08 km
EponymErnest Rutherford

Description

Some close up images of the crater show dunes and light-toned material. Light-toned rocks on Mars have been associated with hydrated minerals like sulfates. The Mars Rover Opportunity examined such layers close-up with several instruments. Scientists are excited about finding hydrated minerals such as sulfates and clays on Mars because they are usually formed in the presence of water.[2] Places that contain clays and/or other hydrated minerals would be good places to look for evidence of life.[3]

  • Western side of Rutherford Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Light-toned deposits are visible.
  • Dunes on floor of Rutherford Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Note: this is an enlargement of the previous image.
  • Image of the Oxia Palus quadrangle (MC-11) where Rutherford is located.
gollark: They're in probably the elliptic curve and SHA256 code. I don't understand it well enough to change stuff.
gollark: Weird that nothing else broke.
gollark: Well, I fixed the stack issue, but it still doesn't work, oh well.
gollark: ... why is it doing this?
gollark: Now the issue is just that the hashes mismatch.

See also

References
  1. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Rutherford". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  2. "Target Zone: Nilosyrtis? | Mars Odyssey Mission THEMIS". Themis.asu.edu. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
  3. "HiRISE | Craters and Valleys in the Elysium Fossae (PSP_004046_2080)". Hirise.lpl.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2012-08-04.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.