Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Butterfly Crater in Vastitas Borealis (Infrared)


The ejecta pattern around this northern plains crater is termed "butterfly" for its similarity to butterfly wings. This type of ejecta pattern is common for oblique impacts. In this IR image the ejecta appears bright. This is because the rock ejecta is warmer than the surrounding dust covered plains.

Orbit Number: 54313 Latitude: 73.298 Longitude: 126.752 Instrument: IR Captured: 2014-03-12 23:41

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University

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