Sinton 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 ...
in the
Ismenius Lacus quadrangle on
Mars. Sinton crater lies in the northern hemisphere, south of the very large crater
Lyot and west of
Ismeniae Fossae
Ismeniae Fossae is a region containing irregular valleys on Mars. It is 287 km across and centered at . It is located in the Ismenius Lacus quadrangle. It is along the dichotomy boundary that is between the old, heavily cratered southern high ...
.
It was named after Harvard astronomer
William M. Sinton. The name was approved in 2007.
Description
Sinton crater is believed to have been caused by an impact into an icefield. This impact melted ice and produced many branched valleys. Some of these can be seen in one of the images below. Evidence of an icefield is
lineated valley fill (LVF) and
lobate debris aprons
Lobate debris aprons (LDAs) are geological features on Mars, first seen by the Viking Orbiters, consisting of piles of rock debris below cliffs. These features have a convex topography and a gentle slope from cliffs or escarpments, which suggest fl ...
(LDA) in the region. Some of this evidence can be seen in one of the images below.
[Morgan, G, J. Head, D. Marchant. 2009. Lineated Valley Fill (LVF) and Lobate Debris Aprons (LDA) in the Deuteronilus mensae northern dichotomy boundary region, Mars: Constrains on the extent, age, and episodicity of Amazonian glacial events. Icarus: 202, 22-38.]
Wikilyotmola.jpg, MOLA map of Sinton crater and other nearby craters. Colors indicate elevations.
Wikisinton.jpg, West side of Sinton, as seen by CTX camera (on MRO).
Wikisintonchannels.jpg, Channels just to south of Sinton, as seen by CTX camera. These were created when the impact occurred in ice-rich ground. Note: this is an enlargement of the previous image of west side of Sinton.
Wikisintonglacier.jpg, Old glacier just to north of Sinton, as seen by CTX camera. This is one of many glaciers in the region. Note: this is an enlargement of a previous image of west side of Sinton.
See also
*
Climate of Mars
*
Geological history of Mars
*
Geology of Mars
*
Glacier
*
Glaciers on Mars
*
Impact event
An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have physical consequences and have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or me ...
*
Ismenius Lacus quadrangle
*
List of craters on Mars
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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 ...
*
Ore resources on Mars
*
Planetary nomenclature
*
Water on Mars
References
Impact craters on Mars
Ismenius Lacus quadrangle
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