Erebus (Mars crater)

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Erebus crater
Mars crater Erebus (Mars)
Erebus crater
position 2 ° 6 ′  S , 5 ° 30 ′  W Coordinates: 2 ° 6 ′ 0 ″  S , 5 ° 30 ′ 0 ″  W
history
discovery Opportunity
Eponym HMS Erebus

Erebus is an impact crater on Mars . It has a diameter of 350 m and is located on the Meridiani Planum plateau within the MC-19 Margaritifer Sinus Gradfeld . He was visited by the Opportunity Rover on its way to the much larger Victoria Crater. The namesake for this crater is the expedition ship HMS Erebus , with which James Clark Ross discovered the Ross Ice Shelf . Furthermore, the Erebus was the flagship of the missing Franklin expedition .

The rover reached the immediate vicinity of the crater in October 2005 and stayed there until March 2006 ( Sol 550 to Sol 750).

The crater is about 2,500 meters south of the smaller Vostok crater that Opportunity had previously investigated. On its western side there is a flat outcrop called Payson Ridge and on its northwestern edge a rock outcrop called Olympia Ridge . Geologists also refer to the topography of the crater as real terrain , which is relatively flat terrain with flat rocks surrounding an area with dunes .

  • The Payson Ridge on the western side of the crater.

  • Olympia Ridge on the northwestern rim of the crater

  • Panoramic color image taken by Opportunity at the crater rim. The crater itself is in the flat area in the upper center.

  • Driving distance from Opportunity. Erebus is roughly in the middle of the picture.

See also

Web links