Burton is an
impact crater in the
Memnonia quadrangle
The Memnonia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Memnonia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-16 (Mars Chart-16).
The quadrangle is ...
of
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
. It is 123.0 km in diameter and was named after British astronomer
Charles E. Burton; the name was approved in 1973.
It 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.
Cobres
Cobres is a village and rural municipality in Salta Province in northwestern Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina c ...
crater is northeast of Burton, and
Marca Marca may refer to:
Places
* Marca, Sălaj, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania
* Marca, a tributary of the Barcău in Sălaj County, Romania
* an alternative name for Merca, Somalia
* Marca District, in the province Recuay, Peru
* Marçà, a vil ...
crater is to the northwest.
Mangala Valles
The Mangala Valles are a complex system of criss-crossing channels on Mars, located in the Tharsis region and in the Memnonia quadrangle. They originated in the Hesperian and Amazonian epochs. They are thought to be an outflow channel system, car ...
is to the east.
In December 2021, three craters immediately south of Burton were named. These are
Karratha,
Khujirt
Khujirt ( mn, Хужирт) is a sum (district) of Övörkhangai Province in central Mongolia. The total population of the sum in 2008 was 6,649.
Climate
Khujirt has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate cl ...
, and
Dampier. Karratha is within Dampier.
Wikiburton.jpg, Middle section of Burton crater, as seen by CTX camera (on MRO)
Wikiburtoncenter.jpg, Central peaks of Burton crater, showing dark slope streaks. Note: this is an enlargement of the previous image.
Burton_crater.jpg, Topographic map showing the central peak
Burton crater Viking mosaic.jpg, Mosaic of Viking Orbiter 1 images, acquired near the end of the Viking mission in 1980
Dark slope streaks
Many places on Mars show dark streaks on steep slopes like crater walls. It seems that the youngest streaks are dark; they become lighter with age. Often they begin as a small narrow spot then widen and extend downhill for hundreds of meters. They have been seen to travel around obstacles, like boulders.
Several ideas have been advanced to explain the streaks. Some involve water or even the growth of organisms.
[http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/streaks_mars_021200.html ] It is most generally accepted that they represent avalanches of dust. The streaks appear in areas covered with dust. When a thin layer of dust is removed, the underlying surface is dark. Much of the Martian surface is covered with dust. Fine dust settles out of the atmosphere covering everything.
Dark streaks can be seen in the image of the central peak above, taken by CTX.
See also
*
List of craters on Mars
__NOTOC__
This is a list of craters on Mars. Impact craters on Mars larger than exist by the hundreds of thousands, but only about one thousand of them have names. Names are assigned by the International Astronomical Union after petitioning by ...
References
{{Geography of Mars
Memnonia quadrangle
Impact craters on Mars