Proctor is a large
crater
Crater may refer to:
Landforms
*Impact crater, a depression caused by two celestial bodies impacting each other, such as a meteorite hitting a planet
*Explosion crater, a hole formed in the ground produced by an explosion near or below the surfac ...
in the
Noachis quadrangle 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 measures in diameter and was named after
Richard A. Proctor
Richard Anthony Proctor (23 March 1837 – 12 September 1888) was an English astronomer. He is best remembered for having produced one of the earliest maps of Mars in 1867 from 27 drawings by the English observer William Rutter Dawes. His map w ...
, a British astronomer (1837–1888).
Dune fields
The crater contains a 35 x 65 km dark
dune field.
It was one of the first sand dune fields ever recognized on Mars based on
Mariner 9
Mariner 9 (Mariner Mars '71 / Mariner-I) was a robotic spacecraft that contributed greatly to the exploration of Mars and was part of the NASA Mariner program. Mariner 9 was launched toward Mars on May 30, 1971 from LC-36B at Cape Canaveral Air ...
images.
The crater's dunes are being monitored by
HiRISE to identify changes over time.
transverse aeolian ridges Transverse aeolian ridges (TARs) are visually bright features commonly found in topographic depressions on Mars. These small-scale and relict bedforms were first seen in narrow-angle images from the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) and were called “ridg ...
and Dunes, as seen by HiRISE
File:Proctor Crater, Mars.jpg, HiRISE image of the crater with transverse aeolian ridges Transverse aeolian ridges (TARs) are visually bright features commonly found in topographic depressions on Mars. These small-scale and relict bedforms were first seen in narrow-angle images from the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) and were called “ridg ...
surrounding a large dune
File:Proctor Crater Dune Field.jpg, The edge of a dark dune field on the floor of Proctor crater
File:Wikiproctordunes.jpg, Dune field on floor of Proctor crater, as seen by CTX camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
File:Wikiproctordunesclose.jpg, Close-up of dunes on floor of Proctor crater, as seen by CTX camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This is an enlargement of part of previous image.
See also
*
List of craters on Mars: O-Z
References
External links
*
*
{{Portal bar, Solar System
Noachis quadrangle
Impact craters on Mars