Nansen (Martian crater)
 Location of Nansen Crater | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Region | Phaethontis quadrangle |
| Coordinates | 50°18′S 140°36′W / 50.3°S 140.6°WCoordinates: 50°18′S 140°36′W / 50.3°S 140.6°W |
| Diameter | 81 km |
| Eponym | Fridtjof Nansen |
Nansen Crater is a crater in the Phaethontis quadrangle of Mars, located at 50.3°S latitude and 140.6°W longitude, it is also inside Terra Sirenum. It is 81.0 km in diameter and was named after Fridtjof Nansen, and the name was approved in 1967,[1] alongside Mariner and Ejriksson being the first named craters on Mars and also the solar system outside the Earth and the Moon. The first close-up detail of Nansen crater was first pictured by the Mariner 4 spacecraft in 1964.
Nearby named craters include Eudoxus to the northwest, Yaren to the north-northeast, Clark to the southeast and Millman to the southwest. Southeast are a long hill range known as Icaria Fossae.
Inside the crater covering about a third is a smaller crater, four smaller unnamed craters are located, two are in the south, another in the east and a smaller one in the northwest. Northeast is a small unnamed crater touching the rim.
Gallery
Small channels are visible in one of the pictures below.
West side of Nansen Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter).
East side of Nansen Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter).
Small channels in Nansen Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Note: this is an enlargement of the previous image of eastern side of Nansen Crater.
See also
References
- ↑ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Nansen". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 4 March 2015.