Hebes Chasma is an isolated

chasma In planetary nomenclature, a chasma (''plural'': chasmata ) is a deep, elongated, steep-sided depression. As of 2020, the IAU has named 122 such features in the Solar System, on Venus (63), Mars (25), Saturn's satellites Mimas (6), Tethys (2), ...

just north of the

Valles Marineris Valles Marineris (; Latin for '' Mariner Valleys'', named after the ''Mariner 9'' Mars orbiter of 1971–72 which discovered it) is a system of canyons that runs along the Martian surface east of the Tharsis region. At more than long, wide and ...

canyon system of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. It is centered at 1 degree southern latitude and 76 degrees western longitude, just between the Martian equator and the Valles Marineris system, just east of the

Tharsis Tharsis () is a vast volcanic plateau centered near the equator in the western hemisphere of Mars. The region is home to the largest volcanoes in the Solar System, including the three enormous shield volcanoes Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Asc ...

region.

Geography

Hebes Chasma is a completely closed depression in the surface of Mars, with no outflows to the nearby

Echus Chasma Echus Chasma is a chasma in the Lunae Planum high plateau north of the Valles Marineris canyon system of Mars. It is in the Coprates quadrangle.ESA (2008-07-14). Echus Chasma. Retrieved on 2008-07-15 from http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM4CATHKHF_ind ...

to the west, Perrotin Crater to the southwest, or

to the south. Its maximum extents are approximately 320 km east to west, 130 km north to south, and 5 to 6 km in depth. At the center of the depression is Hebes Mensa, a large

mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...

rising some 5 km off the valley floor, nearly as high as the surrounding terrain. This central plateau makes Hebes Chasma a unique valley in Martian geography. In high resolution pictures of Mars Express ( http://spaceinimages.esa.int/Images/2013/10/Hebes_Chasma ) blue areas at the deepest section of the depression show characteristics of a lake: Sharp borders between the yellow and blue area and light blue near the yellow area, becoming darker away from the border.

History of name

The word Hebes comes from Hebe, the goddess of youth, who was the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was the wife of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

Origin of mesa

The walls of Hebes Chasma weather differently than the slopes on the mesa on its floor. Also, studies of the thermal inertia suggest that the mesa and the walls of the canyon are made of different substances. Thermal inertia is how long the surface holds heat. For example, rocky areas will stay warmer than dust at night. One popular idea that explains the difference between the depression's walls and the mesa slopes is that the mesa was formed from material that accumulated in a lake. Image:Hebes Chasma.JPG, Hebes Chasma, as seen by THEMIS. Reddish areas are rockier.

References

External links

A trough in the grand canyon of Mars
- European Space Agencies 3-dimensional images of Hebes Chasma
Fly-through movie of Hebes Chasma
- video from ''

Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The ''Mars Express'' mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally ref ...

'' data, also available i
Windows Media Player versionHebes Chasma on Google Mars
- scrollable map centered on Hebes Chasma
History's Layers in Hebes Chasma
- THEMIS feature page on Hebes Chasma

{{Portal bar, Solar System Valleys and canyons on Mars Coprates quadrangle

Geography

History of name

Origin of mesa

See also

References

External links