Auki 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 ...

in the

Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle The Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle is one of a series of List of quadrangles on Mars, 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. This quadrangle (geography), quadrangle is also referre ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, at 15.76 °S latitude and 263.13 °W longitude. It is 40.0 km in diameter and was named after

Auki Auki is the provincial capital of Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. It is situated on the northern end of Langa Langa Lagoon on the north-west coast of Malaita. It is one of the largest provincial towns in Solomon Islands. It was established as ...

, a town in the Solomon Islands, in 2015 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU)

Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

(WGPSN). Auki Crater has a central peak. Impact craters generally have a rim with ejecta around them, in contrast volcanic craters usually do not have a rim or ejecta deposits. As craters get larger (greater than 10 km in diameter) they usually have a central peak. The peak is caused by a rebound of the crater floor following the impact. Strong evidence for hydrothermalism was reported by a team of researchers studying Auki. This crater contains ridges that may have been produced after fractures formed with an impact. Using instruments on the

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter The ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (''MRO'') is a spacecraft designed to search for the existence of water on Mars and provide support for missions to Mars, as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. It was launched from Cape Canaveral on Au ...

they found the minerals

smectite A smectite (; ; ) is a mineral mixture of various swelling sheet silicates (phyllosilicates), which have a three-layer 2:1 (TOT) structure and belong to the clay minerals. Smectites mainly consist of montmorillonite, but can often contain secon ...

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

zeolite Zeolites are a group of several microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a meta ...

, serpentine,

carbonate A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, (), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word "carbonate" may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate group ...

, and chlorite that are common in impact-induced hydrothermal systems on Earth. Other evidence of post-impact hydrothermal systems on Mars from other scientists who studied other Martian craters. Impacts fracture rocks and create a great deal of heat that may last for many thousands of years. This heat can result in new minerals from

hydrothermal circulation Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with th ...

. On Earth impact craters have resulted in useful minerals. Some of the ores produced from impact related effects on Earth include ores of

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

, and

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

. It is estimated that the value of materials mined from impact structures is 5 billion dollars/year just for North America.Grieve, R., V. Masaitis. 1994. The Economic Potential of Terrestrial Impact Craters. International Geology Review: 36, 105-151. While nothing may be found on Mars that would justify the high cost of transport to Earth, the more necessary ores future colonists can obtain from Mars, the easier it would be to build colonies on the Red Planet. Topoauki.jpg, Topographical map showing location of Auki and other nearby features. Color shows elevation. Aukicratercpx.jpg, Wide view of Auki, as seen by CTX ESP 011458 1640auki.jpg, Close view of central portion of Auki, as seen by HiRISE Arrow indicates ridges. Sand dunes are present near the top of the image. 11458 1640ridgesauki.jpg, Close view of ridges from previous HiRISE image Arrow indicates an X-shaped ridge. 11458 1640ridgesauki2.jpg, Close view of central section of Auki showing ridges with arrow Image is an enlargement of a previous HiRISE image.

See also

References

Recommended reading