Porter is a large-scale impact crater in the

Thaumasia quadrangle The Thaumasia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Thaumasia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-25 (Mars Chart-25). The name comes fr ...

on the planet Mars, situated in

Aonia Terra Aonia Terra is a region in the southern hemisphere of the planet Mars. It is named after a classical albedo feature ''Aonia'', that was named after the ancient Greek region Aonia. It is centered at and covers 3900 km at its broadest extent ...

at 50.8° south and 113.9º west. The impact caused a bowl across. The name was chosen in 1973 by the International Astronomical Union in honour of the US astronomer and explorer,

Russell W. Porter Russell Williams Porter (December 13, 1871 – February 22, 1949) was an American artist, engineer, amateur astronomer and Arctic explorer. He was a pioneer in the field of “cutaway illustration" and is sometimes referred to as the "founder" or ...

(1871-1949). 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. Wikiporter.jpg, Porter Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Gullies are visible in the upper left. Wikiportergullies.jpg, Gullies in Porter Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Note: this is an enlargement of the previous photo.

References

Sources

Porter on Google Mars

USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature
{{Portal bar, Solar System Impact craters on Mars Thaumasia quadrangle

See also

References

Sources