APAS 1110 Summer 1996
Cool Image of the Day -- June 13
This remarkable "half crater" is located in the rift between Rhea and Theia Montes in Beta Regio. Radar illumination is from the left. The as yet unnamed crater is 37 (23 miles) kilometers in diameter and is located at latitude 29.91 degrees north, longitude 282.9 degrees east. It has been cut by many fractures or faults since it was formed by the impact of a large asteroid. The eastern half of the crater has been completely destroyed during the formation of a fault-valley that is up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide and apparently quite deep. A north-south profile through the very center of this crater is visible as a result of the downdropping and removal of the eastern half of the crater. This "profile view" gives a third dimension to the crater. Thus it will be beneficial to "illuminate" this area from the opposite side (right-looking) with the Magellan SAR during a later mapping cycle, permitting an even more detailed view of the geologic structure of this feature.
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