Von Kármán is an

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 crater ...

in the Argyre 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. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

, located at 64.6°S latitude and 58.5°W longitude. It is in diameter. It was named after Hungarian-American aeronautical engineer

Theodore von Kármán Theodore von Kármán ( hu, ( szőllőskislaki) Kármán Tódor ; born Tivadar Mihály Kármán; 11 May 18816 May 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronaut ...

. The crater contains a large field of dunes. Usually, the dunes are very dark because they contain the dark volcanic rock basalt. However, in the winter they are become covered with frost. The pictures below show the frost disappearing. Dark spots appear on dunes in the higher latitudes of Mars. Sometimes

geysers A geyser (, ) is a spring characterized by an intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. As a fairly rare phenomenon, the formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in ...

form near the spots. The dunes have two main features, dark dune spots and spider channels, that appear at the beginning of the Martian spring on fields covered with carbon dioxide (CO₂ or 'dry ice'), mainly at the ridges and slopes of the dunes. By the beginning of winter, they disappear. The dark spots are generally round; on the slopes they are usually elongated. In these spots mineral grains may be covered with a thin film of water that may affect chemical weathering of minerals and may help possible Martian organisms to survive. Studies have shown that thin films of water could exist on the Martian surface at certain times and in certain locations. In some areas, thin layers of liquid water could be present for 38 sols (Martian days) during warmer periods of the day. With the stronger sunshine of spring in certain regions, carbon dioxide gas jets shoot dark dust in the air. This dust increases the absorption of light and causes the temperature to rise to where water can exist for short periods.Kereszturi, A., Rivera-Valentin, E. 2012. "Locations of thin liquid water layers on present-day Mars". ''Icarus'': 221, 289–295.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Von Karman (Martian crater) Argyre quadrangle Impact craters on Mars

See also

References