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Areography, also known as the geography of Mars, is a subfield of planetary science that entails the delineation and characterization of regions on Mars. Areography is mainly focused on what is called physical geography on Earth; that is the distribution of physical features across Mars and their cartographic representations. In April 2023, The New York Times reported an updated global map of Mars based on images from the Hope spacecraft. A related, but much more detailed, global Mars map was released by NASA on 16 April 2023.
Herschel is an impact crater in Mars's southern hemisphere. At roughly 304 kilometers in diameter, it is a moderately large impact crater. Located at 14.5°S, 130°E, Herschel is in the Mare Tyrrhenum region of Mars. The crater is jointly named after the seventeenth/eighteenth century father and son astronomers William Herschel and John Herschel.
Holden is a 140 km wide crater situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars, located with the southern highlands. It is named after American astronomer Edward Singleton Holden. It is part of the Uzboi-Landon-Morava (ULM) system.
2024 McLaughlin, provisional designation 1952 UR, is an asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometer in diameter. It was discovered 23 October 1952, by the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, and named after American astronomer Dean Benjamin McLaughlin.
Jezero is a crater on Mars in the Syrtis Major quadrangle, about 45.0 km (28.0 mi) in diameter. Thought to have once been flooded with water, the crater contains a fan-delta deposit rich in clays. The lake in the crater was present when valley networks were forming on Mars. Besides having a delta, the crater shows point bars and inverted channels. From a study of the delta and channels, it was concluded that the lake inside the crater probably formed during a period in which there was continual surface runoff.
Gale is a crater, and probable dry lake, at 5.4°S 137.8°E in the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle on Mars. It is 154 km (96 mi) in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5–3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur astronomer from Sydney, Australia, who observed Mars in the late 19th century. Mount Sharp is a mountain in the center of Gale and rises 5.5 km (18,000 ft) high. Aeolis Palus is the plain between the northern wall of Gale and the northern foothills of Aeolis Mons. Peace Vallis, a nearby outflow channel, 'flows' down from the hills to the Aeolis Palus below and seems to have been carved by flowing water. Several lines of evidence suggest that a lake existed inside Gale shortly after the formation of the crater.
Miyamoto is a crater within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars, west of the Plains of Meridiani. It is 150 kilometers (93 mi) wide. Its northeastern half is filled with rocks formed in the presence of water and include minerals of iron and sulfur, which likely settled on lake bottoms or in groundwater systems. In the southwestern half of the crater floor, erosion has stripped these materials away, revealing clays and other materials like those found in the most ancient Martian rocks. More than 3.5 billion years old, they date to the Noachian era at which time, liquid water was likely present at the surface and could have created an environment favorable to life.
The Syrtis Major quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Syrtis Major quadrangle is also referred to as MC-13.
The Aeolis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Aeolis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-23 . The Aeolis quadrangle covers 180° to 225° W and 0° to 30° south on Mars, and contains parts of the regions Elysium Planitia and Terra Cimmeria. A small part of the Medusae Fossae Formation lies in this quadrangle.
The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-19. The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle covers the area from 0° to 45° west longitude and 0° to 30° south latitude on Mars. Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle contains Margaritifer Terra and parts of Xanthe Terra, Noachis Terra, Arabia Terra, and Meridiani Planum.
The Mare Australe quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Mare Australe quadrangle is also referred to as MC-30. The quadrangle covers all the area of Mars south of 65°, including the South polar ice cap, and its surrounding area. The quadrangle's name derives from an older name for a feature that is now called Planum Australe, a large plain surrounding the polar cap. The Mars polar lander crash landed in this region.
Almost all water on Mars today exists as polar permafrost ice, though it also exists in small quantities as vapor in the atmosphere.
Columbus is a crater in the Terra Sirenum of Mars. It is 119 km in diameter and was named after Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (1451–1506). The discovery of sulfates and clay minerals in sediments within Columbus crater are strong evidence that a lake once existed in the crater. Research with an orbiting near-infrared spectrometer, which reveals the types of minerals present based on the wavelengths of light they absorb, found evidence of layers of both clay and sulfates in Columbus crater. This is exactly what would appear if a large lake had slowly evaporated. Moreover, because some layers contained gypsum, a sulfate which forms in relatively fresh water, life could have formed in the crater.
Endeavour is an impact crater located in the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of the planet Mars. Endeavour is about 22 kilometers (14 mi) in diameter. Using Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data, phyllosilicate-bearing outcrops have been detected along its rim. These minerals may have formed under wet conditions in a low-acidic environment during the early history of Mars. There are raised rim segments to the north, east, and southwest. The rim has become worn, rounded and degraded, with infilling of plains material in a manner similar to the Victoria crater.
McLaughlin Crater is an old crater in the Oxia Palus quadrangle of Mars, located at 21.9°N 337.63°E. It is 90.92 km (56.50 mi) in diameter and 2.2 km (1.4 mi) deep. The crater was named after Dean B. McLaughlin, an American astronomer (1901-1965). The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found evidence that the water came from beneath the surface between 3.7 billion and 4 billion years ago and remained long enough to make carbonate-related clay minerals found in layers. McLaughlin Crater, one of the deepest craters on Mars, contains Mg-Fe clays and carbonates that probably formed in a groundwater-fed alkaline lake. This type of lake could have had a massive biosphere of microscopic organisms.
Richard Alfred Rossiter was an American astronomer, known for the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect. Rossiter served as director of the Lamont–Hussey Observatory from 1928 until 1952.
Very is a crater on Mars, located south of the planet's equator in the heavily cratered highlands of Terra Sirenum in the Phaethontis quadrangle at 49.2°S and 177.1°W. It measures approximately 114.81 kilometres (71.34 mi) in diameter. The crater was named after American astronomer Frank Washington Very.
In summer 1965, the first close-up images from Mars showed a cratered desert with no signs of water. However, over the decades, as more parts of the planet were imaged with better cameras on more sophisticated satellites, Mars showed evidence of past river valleys, lakes and present ice in glaciers and in the ground. It was discovered that the climate of Mars displays huge changes over geologic time because its axis is not stabilized by a large moon, as Earth's is. Also, some researchers maintain that surface liquid water could have existed for periods of time due to geothermal effects, chemical composition, or asteroid impacts. This article describes some of the places that could have held large lakes.
In January 2017, scientists announced the possible discovery of mud cracks in Gale Crater on Mars. The Curiosity Rover imaged what may be the first mud cracks ever found on Mars. They may have been formed from drying mud. The site, called “Old Soaker,” was within an exposure of Murray formation mudstone on lower Mount Sharp.
Laura Elizabeth Hill McLaughlin was a computer, instructor and researcher of astronomy. As an astronomer of the Detroit Observatory for the University of Michigan, she conducted research work alongside her husband, fellow Detroit Observatory astronomer Dean B. Mclaughlin.
References
- ↑ "'U' Astronomer McLaughlin Dies". Ann Arbor District Library. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ↑ "Obituary: Dean B. McLaughlin". Physics Today. 19 (1): 153–154. January 1966. doi:10.1063/1.3047942.
- ↑ "'U' Astronomer McLaughlin Dies | Ann Arbor District Library". aadl.org. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
- ↑ Jones, Barrie W. (April 2008). "Mars Before the Space Age". International Journal of Astrobiology. 7 (2): 143–155. doi:10.1017/S1473550408004138. ISSN 1473-5504.
- ↑ "Martian Crater May Once Have Held Groundwater-Fed Lake". NASA/JPL. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Martian Crater May Once Have Held Groundwater-Fed Lake". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Retrieved September 16, 2024.
