Rabe (crater)
Top: ESA's Mars Express' HRSC photo of Rabe Crater, North is to the right Bottom: Map showing location of Rabe Crater and other features, the crater is on the bottom right | |
Planet | Mars |
---|---|
Region | Argyre quadrangle |
Coordinates | 43°54′S 34°54′W / 43.9°S 34.9°WCoordinates: 43°54′S 34°54′W / 43.9°S 34.9°W |
Diameter | 108 km |
Eponym | Wilhelm F. Rabe |
Rabe is a crater on Mars, located in the Noachis quadrangle at 43.9° south latitude 325.1° west longitude and measures approximately 108 kilometers in diameter, it is also inside Noachis Terra. Its name was approved in 1973, and was named after Wilhelm F. Rabe, a German astronomer (1893–1958).[1]
Southwest is Proctor, further south is Matara, and further west-northwest is Hunten. Due east is Hellespontus Montes and the planet's lowest basin Hellas Planitia.
Description
In the south of Rabe, its central peak has a mound which is rarely founded in other large craters in Noachis Terra, its terrain color is mostly black with parts being reddish black and covers most of the southwest side and are mainly dunes, while the rest of the crater is colored from pinkish red to red. The westernmost section has its soil color ranging from pinkish white to dark red. North of the mound is a hollow which is its deepest point, west of the mound has a few hilly features. East is a smaller crater, surrounding are Rabe's highest point of its crater rim, the western rim is slightly lower. West of the rim has elevations higher than the crater and its rim which has a plateau like feature.
Inside Rabe are plenty of dunes, common in many of the planet's craters, also layers are featured, most of it is inside the hollow mixed with its color of the soil from the mound, some looking it pink. Dark sand that made the dunes was probably blown in from elsewhere, the source is not local to this crater; rather, this topographic depression has acted as a sand trap that has collected material being transported by winds blowing across the plains outside the crater.[2] Unlike other craters in the southern portion of the planet, gullies are rarely founded, a few are founded especially to the south.
Gallery
- Rabe Crater Floor, as seen by HiRISE. Click on image to see layers. Dark sand that made the dunes was probably blown in from elsewhere.
- This image shows part of the floor of Rabe Crater.
- Perspective view of Rabe Crater seen from the ESA's Mars Express
See also
References
- ↑ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Rabe". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ HiRISE photo of Rabe Crater