Apollodorus is an
impact crater
An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
on
Mercury. Its unusual appearance, with radiating dark troughs, led to a nickname of "the Spider" by scientists before its official name was decided.
Apollodorus is located near the center of
Pantheon Fossae, which is a system of radial
graben
In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults.
Etymology
''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...
s situated in the inner part of the
Caloris basin. The floor,
rim and walls of Apollodorus expose a low reflectance material (LRM) excavated during the impact from beneath the light volcanic plains, which cover the central part of the Caloris.
It is not currently known whether it played a role in the fossae's formation or if its location is merely a coincidence, although no graben appears to cut the crater rim, and the dark impact ejecta partially covers grabens, suggesting that Apollodorus postdates Pantheon Fossae. In addition, the crater is slightly (by about 40 km) offset from the exact center of the Pantheon Fossae.
[
Apollodorus of Damascus is credited as the architect of the Pantheon in Rome.]
Views
Apollodorus crater EN0233264093M.jpg, MESSENGER image at high sun angle, showing the northern crater and possible hollows
Apollodorus crater MESSENGER NAC mosaic.jpg, Mosaic of MESSENGER images
References
Impact craters on Mercury
{{Mercury-crater-stub