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Pollack (Martian crater)

Coordinates: 7°54′S 334°48′W / 7.9°S 334.8°W / -7.9; -334.8
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Pollack
Pollack crater from Martian orbit
PlanetMars
Coordinates7°54′S 334°48′W / 7.9°S 334.8°W / -7.9; -334.8
QuadrangleSinus Sabaeus
Diameter96.0 km
DiscovererMariner 9
EponymJames B. Pollack, American physicist (1938-1994)

Pollack is an impact crater in the Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle of Mars, located at 7.9° S and 334.8° W. It measures 96 kilometers in diameter and was named after James B. Pollack, an American astrophysicist (1938–1994). [1] Pollack Crater contains a large light toned deposit that was once thought to be a salt deposit. However, the surrounding rocks are exceptionally dark and that makes this deposit appear white.

Cream coloured formation

The white deposit on crater floor may be what's left of a much larger deposit. Arrow shows that the deposit once reached much farther. Picture taken by THEMIS.

Much of Earth's land surface is just a few hundred million years old. In contrast, large areas of Mars are billions of years old. Some surface areas have been formed, eroded away, then covered over with new layers of rocks. Scientists believe that it used to have a dynamic surface, but then volcanic activity ceased and the atmosphere was stripped away. The Mariner 9 spacecraft in the 1970s photographed a feature that was called "White Rock." It was thought that this feature could have been a salt deposit, but information from the instruments on Mars Global Surveyor demonstrated rather that it was probably volcanic ash or dust. Today, it is believed that White Rock represents an old rock layer that once filled the whole crater that it's in, but today it has since been mostly been eroded away. The picture below shows white rock with a spot of the same rock some distance from the main deposit, so it is thought that the white material once covered a far larger area.[2]

  • White Rock in Pollack Crater as seen by HiRISE.
    White Rock in Pollack Crater as seen by HiRISE.
  • Enlargement of White Rock in Pollack Crater, as seen by HiRISE.
    Enlargement of White Rock in Pollack Crater, as seen by HiRISE.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Pollack". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Mars: What We Know About the Red Planet". Space.com. October 2021.
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