Phillips (Martian crater)
 Location of Phillips Crater | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 66°42′S 45°06′W / 66.7°S 45.1°WCoordinates: 66°42′S 45°06′W / 66.7°S 45.1°W |
| Diameter | 190.2 km |
| Eponym | John Phillips and Theodore E. Philips |
Phillips Crater is a crater in the Mare Australe quadrangle of Mars, located at 66.7° south latitude and 45.1° west longitude. It is 190.2 km in diameter and was named after John Phillips, a British geologist (1800–1874), and Theodore E. Philips, a British astronomer (1868–1942).[1] The northernmost rim is in the Argyre quadrangle.
Nearby prominent craters include Maraldi to the east-northeast, and the half-eroded du Toit to the west-southwest. Also the crater is in the area where the sun shines 24 Martian hours during the summer solstice and all day dark during the winter solstice, as the vicinity is crossed by the Southern (or the Martian Antarctic) Circle which is around the northern part.
Description
The crater includes a smaller crater which was created by a separate impact. In that location, there are three unnnamed craters, two attached in the northwest with a small central hill in the second one and another in the east not far from the crater center.
In this area one can often see polygons. Polygons are common where wet ground freezes and thaws. The polygons here are especially visible because there is snow in the cracks between the polygons. The enlarged picture below shows these features.
Gallery
Phillips Crater as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter).
Phillips Crater showing polygons with ice in cracks between polygons, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Note this is an enlargement of a previous image.
Phillips Crater Area, as seen by HiRISE.
Map of Mare Australe quadrangle with major features labeled.
See also
References
- ↑ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Phillips". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 4 March 2015.