Mojave (crater) on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Mojave is a 58 km diameter 
The crater is located within the Martian
Image:Wikimojave.jpg, Mojave as seen by CTX camera (on
Accurate animations of flights over Mars in at 100 meter altitude
High resolution video
by Seán Doran of an overflight of the northwest rim of Mojave, based on a NAS
(see Fig. 4)
Another video
by Seán Doran of a south-to-north overflight of parts of
impact crater
An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...
in the Oxia Palus quadrangle
The Oxia Palus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Oxia Palus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-11 (Mars Chart-11).
The quadrangle ...
of Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
, located at 7.5° N and 33.0° W. It was named after the town of Mojave in southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, U.S.
The crater is located within the Martian Xanthe Terra
Xanthe Terra is a large area on Mars, centered just north of the Martian equator. Its coordinates are and its diameter is
1867.65 km. Its name means "golden-yellow land." It is in the Lunae Palus quadrangle, the Coprates quadrangle, the Marg ...
region.
Description
Mojave hasalluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...
s that look remarkably similar to landforms in the Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...
in the American southwest. Fans inside and around the outsides of the crater are closely similar to Earth's alluvial fans. As on Earth, the largest rocks are near the mouths of the fans. Because the channels start at ridge tops, it is believed they were formed by heavy downpours. Researchers have suggested that the rain may have been initiated by impacts.
Some parts of the crater display a high concentration of closely spaced pits. Pits show little or no evidence of rims or ejecta. The pits are so close to each other that adjacent pits often share the same wall. It is believed that the pits form from steam produced when the heat from the impact process interacts with ice in the ground.
The depth of Mojave is approximately 2,600 meters (1.63 miles). Based on its ratio of depth to diameter, researchers believe it is very young. It is not old enough to have accumulated much material and start to fill. Its relatively undegraded state helps scientists model impact processes on Mars. If one measures the diameter of a crater, the original depth can be estimated with various ratios. Because of this relationship, researchers have found that many Martian craters contain a great deal of material; much of it is believed to be ice deposited when the climate was different.Garvin, J., et al. 2002. Global geometric properities of martian impact craters. Lunar Planet Sci. 33. Abstract @1255.
Mojave is a rayed crater, another indication of its youth, and is the largest such crater on Mars. Based on crater counts of its ejecta blanket
An ejecta blanket is a generally symmetrical apron of ejecta that surrounds an impact crater; it is layered thickly at the crater's rim and thin to discontinuous at the blanket's outer edge.
The impact cratering is one of the basic surface format ...
, it is thought to be about 3 million years old. It is believed to be the most recent crater of its size on Mars, and has been identified as the probable source of the shergottite
A Martian meteorite is a rock that formed on Mars, was ejected from the planet by an impact event, and traversed interplanetary space before landing on Earth as a meteorite. , 277 meteorites had been classified as Martian, less than half a percen ...
meteorite
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
s collected on Earth. However, the latter hypothesis is controversial.
Gallery
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, an ...
).
Image:Alluvial Fans in Mojave Crater.jpg, Alluvial fans in Mojave, as seen by HiRISE
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction o ...
. The crater rim is on the right. A branched network of channels runs downward towards the left.
Image:Mojave Crater.jpg, Another view of Mojave from HiRISE. North is at bottom.
See also
References
External links
Accurate animations of flights over Mars in at 100 meter altitude
High resolution video
by Seán Doran of an overflight of the northwest rim of Mojave, based on a NAS
(see Fig. 4)
Another video
by Seán Doran of a south-to-north overflight of parts of
Tiu Valles
The Tiu Valles are an outflow channel system in the Oxia Palus quadrangle of Mars, centered at 16.23° North and 34.86° West.
They are long and were named after the word for "Mars" in Old English (West Germanic).
Wikichaosmap.jpg, Tographic ...
and Chryse Chaos Chryse ( el, Χρύση, Khrýsē) may refer to:
Ancient Greece and Rome
* Chryse (mythology), several figures in Greek mythology
* Chryse (ancient Greek placename), various places in ancient Greek geography
* Chryse, Greek name for Aurea of Ostia ...
, passing over Mojave in about the middle, based on 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 ...
imagery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mojave (Crater)
Impact craters on Mars
Oxia Palus quadrangle