Mädler is a
crater on
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 was named in honor of the German astronomer
Johann Heinrich Mädler
Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...
by the
IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...
in 1973.
Mädler and collaborator
Wilhelm Beer
Wilhelm Wolff Beer (4 January 1797 – 27 March 1850) was a banker and astronomer from Berlin, Prussia, and the brother of Giacomo Meyerbeer.
Astronomy
Beer's fame derives from his hobby, astronomy. He built a private observatory with a ...
produced the first reasonably good maps of Mars in the early 1830s. When doing so, they selected a particular feature for the
prime meridian
A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...
of their charts. Their choice was strengthened when
Giovanni Schiaparelli
Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 14 March 1835 – 4 July 1910) was an Italian astronomer and science historian.
Biography
He studied at the University of Turin, graduating in 1854, and later did research at Berlin Observatory, ...
used the same location in 1877 for his more famous maps of Mars. The feature was later called Sinus Meridiani ("Middle Bay" or "Bay of the Meridian"), but following the landing of the
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
probe
MER-B ''Opportunity'' in 2004 is perhaps better known as
Meridiani Planum
The Meridiani Planum (alternately Meridiani plain, Meridiani plains, Terra Meridiani, or Terra Meridiani plains) is either a large plain straddling the equator of Mars and covered with a vast number of spherules containing a lot of iron oxide or ...
.
Mädler lies in the south of
Meridiani Planum
The Meridiani Planum (alternately Meridiani plain, Meridiani plains, Terra Meridiani, or Terra Meridiani plains) is either a large plain straddling the equator of Mars and covered with a vast number of spherules containing a lot of iron oxide or ...
, close to the prime meridian and about 10° east of
Beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
.
Schiaparelli is also in the region.
A valley-lake system called
Markikh Vallis that once held water flowed into Mädler crater from the south, and formed a lake within Mädler and the adjacent, smaller crater to the southeast. The water flowed out of Mädler to the west and eventually to the northern plains.
[Fassett, C. and J. Head III. 2008. Valley network-fed, open-basin lakes on Mars: Distribution and implications for Noachian surface and subsurface hydrology. Icarus: 198. 39-56.]
Image:Eroded rim of Madler Crater.JPG, Eroded rim of Mädler crater, as seen by MRO's CTX.
References
External links
The Planet Mars: A History of Observation and Discovery, Chapter 4
Impact craters on Mars
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