Pickering Crater is a crater in the

Phaethontis quadrangle The Phaethontis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Phaethontis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-24 (Mars Chart-24). The name com ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

, located at 33.1° south latitude and 132.5° west longitude. It is in diameter.

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

flow fronts are visible within the crater, and the source of the lava is

Arsia Mons Arsia Mons is the southernmost of three volcanoes (collectively known as Tharsis Montes) on the Tharsis bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. To its north is Pavonis Mons, and north of that is Ascraeus Mons. The tallest volcano in the So ...

. The lava has flowed around the central peak of the crater. The crater was named after several people:

Edward Charles Pickering Edward Charles Pickering (July 19, 1846 – February 3, 1919) was an American astronomer and physicist and the older brother of William Henry Pickering. Along with Carl Vogel, Pickering discovered the first spectroscopic binary stars. He wrote ' ...

, American astronomer (1846–1919); his brother

William Henry Pickering William Henry Pickering (February 15, 1858 – January 16, 1938) was an American astronomer. Pickering constructed and established several observatories or astronomical observation stations, notably including Percival Lowell's Flagstaff Obser ...

, American astronomer (1858–1938); and Sir

William Hayward Pickering William Hayward Pickering (24 December 1910 – 15 March 2004) was a New Zealand-born aerospace engineer who headed Pasadena, California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 22 years, retiring in 1976. He was a senior NASA luminary and pione ...

(unrelated), New Zealand-American engineer (1910–2004). Wikipickeringwest.jpg, Western edge of Pickering Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, an ...

). Wikipickeringlava.jpg, Lava flows on floor of Pickering Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Lava flowed in crater, and then stopped as it reached higher ground. Note: this is an enlargement of previous image. Wikipickering.jpg, Middle portion of Pickering Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Arrows indicate edges of lava flows.

References

Phaethontis quadrangle Impact craters on Mars {{crater-stub

See also

References