Playfair (Martian crater)
 Location of Playfair Crater. | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Region | Mare Australe quadrangle |
| Coordinates | 78°06′S 126°12′W / 78.1°S 126.2°WCoordinates: 78°06′S 126°12′W / 78.1°S 126.2°W |
| Diameter | 64.2 km |
| Eponym | John Playfair |
Playfair is an impact crater in the Mare Australe quadrangle of Mars, located at 78.1°S latitude and 126.2°W longitude. It measures 64.2 kilometers in diameter and was named after Scottish scientist and mathematician John Playfair. The naming was approved in 1973, by the IAU's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature.[1]
Nearby prominent craters include Lau to the northeast, Reynolds further to the east northeast and Stoney hundreds of kilometers to the north-northwest. Nearby unnamed craters includes one that is like a flooded crater northeast, and two to the south and southwest which has similar crater forms to Playfair and almost a smaller one nearly south-southwest. East is Parva Planum, southeast is Australe Scopuli, the south is Australe Planum (the planet's Southern Plain) and further west is Ultimum Scopuli.
The crater's canyon has a ring shape and with a mesa (tablemount)-like feature, the inner portion's highest point is in the southeast while the remainder of the mesa-like portion are lower.
Images
This picture was taken in the spring season on Mars when the temperature was rising. During the winter, much frost accumulates. When the temperature goes up in the spring, the frost disappears in the thin Martian atmosphere and leaves behind the dark ground. The surface appears covered with dark spots when this defrosting process is occurring.[2]
The dark spots can be seen in some of the pictures below.
Playfair (Martian crater), as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Dark dots are places where frost has disappeared.
Defrosting going on in Playfair crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Dark areas are where frost has disappeared thereby showing dark ground. Note: this is an enlargement of the previous image of Playfair crater.
See also
References
- ↑ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Playfair". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-034