Penelope is the fourth-largest

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 ...

Saturn's Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 times ...

moon Tethys. An unusually elliptical crater, it measures roughly 180 by 220 kilometers and is located near the equator near the center of Tethys's trailing hemisphere at 10.8°S, 249.2°W. It is approximately opposite to the largest crater on Tethys—

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

. Penelope is named after Queen

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, wife of the legendary King

from

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

''. The name was officially approved by the

International Astronomical Union 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 ...

(IAU) in 1983.

Geology and structure

Penelope is a highly elliptical crater, with its shortest axis being roughly 180 kilometers and its major (longest) axis being roughly 220 kilometers. Penelope's longest axis is aligned almost exactly north–south, deviating by only 1°. Nevertheless, with an average diameter of roughly 207.5 kilometers, it is the fourth-largest known impact structure on Tethys. Its western crater wall is bright, with fresh ice from Tethys's crust exposed; the eastern crater wall is comparatively much more degraded. Within Penelope's basin floor is a heavily degraded central peak ring approximately 50 kilometers in diameter. The central peak ring's northern and southeastern arcs are the best-preserved sections of this feature. Several faults cross Penelope, including a tectonic feature that crosses the basin floor yet does not continue beyond the crater rim. Penelope is rather deep and unrelaxed, having not been flattened out as with some of Tethys's other major impact craters. It and another nearby unrelaxed impact basin, Antinous, may represent a province of unrelaxed craters between ~120° E and ~30° E. The region Penelope is located in is dominated by heavily cratered terrain. To the east of Penelope is a network of roughly parallel narrow troughs that cut across a system of older, more degraded troughs. Regions to the east are especially densely cratered and rugged. Unusually, Penelope, alongside most of Tethys's other large impact craters, are all concentrated on Tethys's trailing hemisphere to the south of the equator.

References

External links

''Cassini'' images of Melanthius Crater
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penelope (crater) Impact craters on Saturn's moons Surface features of Tethys (moon)