Rahe is a
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 ...
on the planet
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 ...
in the
Tharsis quadrangle
The Tharsis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Tharsis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-9 (Mars Chart-9).
The name Tharsis refe ...
, positioned at 25.05° north latitude and 262.52° east longitude,
between the volcanoes
Ceraunius Tholus and
Uranius Tholus
Uranius Tholus is a volcano on Mars located in the Tharsis quadrangle at 26.52° north latitude and 262.43° east longitude. It is across with an elevation of and was named after a classical albedo feature name.
Uranius Tholus is part of the Ur ...
. It measures approximately 34 kilometers in diameter and was named after Jürgen Rahe, a German-American astronomer and
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
science program director.
Description
The crater has an elongated shape measuring 35 km by 18 km and is the result of an oblique impact. A channel connects Rahe crater to the vicinity of the summit caldera of Ceraunius Tholus, with an interesting fan-shaped deposit at the lower end.
Rahe crater is 1 km deep in places, and was created by a low angle impact which is evident by its elongated shape and ejecta deposit in the shape of a "butterfly".
Rahe is believed to once have held a lake. The lake was formed because heat from the nearby volcano Ceraunius Tholus melted glaciers. Melt water first collected in the caldera of Cerunius Tholus, and then spilled over the caldera rim forming a valley and the lake in Rahe crater. The valley that carried the water was about 200 m wide. A delta formed where the valley entered the crater.
This type of event involving volcanic heat melting glaciers is common in Iceland. Eruptions under glaciers are called
jökulhlaups and average two each century. Studies of climate change show that many low-latitude regions accumulated large amounts of snow when the climate was different.
[Head, J. et al. 2006. Extensive valley glacier deposits in the northern mid-latitudes of Mars: Evidence for Late Amazonian obliquity-driven climate change. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 241,663-671.]
Wikirahe.jpg, Rahe crater, as seen by CTX camera (on MRO).
Wikirahedelta.jpg, Delta in Rahe crater, as seen by CTX camera. Note: this is an enlargement from the previous image of Rahe Crater.
See also
*
Climate of Mars
*
Geology of Mars
The geology of Mars is the scientific study of the surface, crust, and interior of the planet Mars. It emphasizes the composition, structure, history, and physical processes that shape the planet. It is analogous to the field of terrestrial geo ...
* , minor planet
*
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
Impact craters on Mars
Tharsis quadrangle
{{crater-stub