Voltaire is an
impact crater
An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...
on
Mars's moon Deimos Deimos, a Greek word for ''dread'', may refer to:
* Deimos (deity), one of the sons of Ares and Aphrodite in Greek mythology
* Deimos (moon), the smaller and outermost of Mars' two natural satellites
* Elecnor Deimos, a Spanish aerospace company
* ...
and is approximately across. Voltaire crater is named after
François-Marie Arouet
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
, a
French Enlightenment writer who was better known by the pen name Voltaire, who in his 1752 short story "
Micromégas
''Le Micromégas'' is a 1752 novella by the French philosopher and satirist Voltaire. Along with his story "Plato's Dream", it is an early example in the literary genre of science fiction and has its place in the development of the history of li ...
" predicted that Mars had two moons. Voltaire crater is one of two named features on Deimos, the other being
Swift crater. On 10 July 2006,
Mars Global Surveyor
''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through the a ...
took an image of Deimos from away showing Voltaire crater and Swift crater.
Impact
According to a 2016 study by Nayak et al, the impact that created Voltaire was sufficient to cause large amounts of ejecta that remained in Mars orbit for several hundred years, before a substantial amount of it collided back with Deimos.
These impacts were theorised by this study to have been potentially extensive enough to resurface large areas of Deimos, which complicates efforts to accurately date the moon's surface.
[
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See also
* Swift (Deimian crater)
Swift crater is a crater on Mars's moon Deimos. It is about in diameter. Swift crater is named after Jonathan Swift, whose 1726 book ''Gulliver's Travels'' predicted the existence of two moons of Mars. Swift crater is one of two named features ...
* Moons of Mars
The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos (fear and panic) and Deimos (te ...
* Phobos (moon)
Phobos (; astronomical naming conventions, systematic designation: ) is the innermost and larger of the two moons of Mars, natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos (moon), Deimos. The two moons were discovered in 1877 by American ast ...
* Deimos (moon)
Deimos ( systematic designation: Mars II) is the smaller and outermost of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Phobos. Of similar composition to C and D-type asteroids, Deimos has a mean radius of and takes 30.3 hours to ...
References
{{crater-stub
Deimos (moon)
Impact craters on Mars's moons
Voltaire