List of craters on Mars

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This article should list only official names approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).[1]
Opportunity rover images Burns Cliff inside Endurance impact crater in 2004.

This is a list of craters on Mars. Impact craters on Mars larger than 1 km exist by the hundreds of thousands, but only about 1,000 of them have names. Names are assigned by the International Astronomical Union after petitioning by relevant scientists, and in general, only craters that have a significant research interest are given names. Martian craters are named after famous scientists and science fiction authors, or if less than 60 km in diameter, after towns on Earth. Craters cannot be named for living people, and names for small craters are rarely intended to commemorate a specific town.[2] Latitude and longitude are given as planetographic coordinates with west longitude.


Alphabetical[edit]

By size[edit]

Crater[note 1] Coordinates Diameter (km)[note 2] elliptical major axis (km) elliptical minor axis (km) Rank by approx. area Approval date Named after
Huygens 13°58′S 55°35′E / 13.96°S 55.58°E / -13.96; 55.58 (Huygens) 467.25 484.89 450.54 1 1973 Christiaan Huygens
Schiaparelli 2°41′S 16°47′E / 2.69°S 16.79°E / -2.69; 16.79 (Schiaparelli) 458.52 (445.76) 462.51 430.4 2 1973 Giovanni Schiaparelli
Unnamed 38°06′N 167°09′W / 38.1°N 167.15°W / 38.1; -167.15 376.35 452.74 384.9 3 N/A N/A
Greeley 36°38′S 3°11′E / 36.63°S 3.19°E / -36.63; 3.19 (Greeley) 457.45 (427.15) 438.81 395.71 4 2015 Ronald Greeley
Cassini 22°35′N 32°07′E / 22.59°N 32.11°E / 22.59; 32.11 (Cassini) 408.23 411.45 402.42 5 1973 Giovanni Cassini
Antoniadi 21°35′N 60°50′E / 21.59°N 60.84°E / 21.59; 60.84 (Antoniadi) 400.95 417.04 389.68 6 1973 Eugène Michael Antoniadi
Dollfus 20°59′S 3°50′W / 20.99°S 3.83°W / -20.99; -3.83 (Dollfus) 363.08 (358.72) 367.94 346.98 7 2013 Audouin Dollfus
Unnamed 59°01′S 76°53′W / 59.01°S 76.89°W / -59.01; -76.89 341.1 391.76 325.82 8 N/A N/A
Tikhonravov 12°55′N 35°55′E / 12.92°N 35.91°E / 12.92; 35.91 (Tikhonravov) 343.7 356.28 331.85 9 1985 Mikhail Tikhonravov
Unnamed 23°23′N 53°14′E / 23.39°N 53.24°E / 23.39; 53.24 340.12 351.4 330.13 10 N/A N/A
Unnamed 0°59′S 28°52′E / 0.99°S 28.86°E / -0.99; 28.86 325.8 347 308.58 11 N/A N/A
Newton 40°31′S 158°04′W / 40.52°S 158.06°W / -40.52; -158.06 (Newton) 299.94 (312.44) 318.37 307.37 12 1973 Isaac Newton
Unnamed 59°32′S 83°53′W / 59.53°S 83.89°W / -59.53; -83.89 301.99 319.91 297.06 13 N/A N/A
Unnamed 24°28′S 32°07′W / 24.47°S 32.12°W / -24.47; -32.12 300.36 323.73 291.72 14 N/A N/A
de Vaucouleurs 13°40′S 171°05′E / 13.67°S 171.09°E / -13.67; 171.09 (de Vaucouleurs) 302.27 (311.68) 316.11 297.19 15 2000 Gérard de Vaucouleurs
Copernicus 48°53′S 168°49′W / 48.88°S 168.82°W / -48.88; -168.82 (Copernicus) 301.83 320.69 284.51 16 1973 Nicolaus Copernicus
Unnamed 52°33′S 109°34′W / 52.55°S 109.57°W / -52.55; -109.57 326.77 343.52 260.75 17 N/A N/A
Herschel 14°09′S 129°53′E / 14.15°S 129.89°E / -14.15; 129.89 (Herschel) 297.92 301.56 294.41 18 1973 John Herschel and William Herschel
Schroeter 1°53′S 55°59′E / 1.89°S 55.99°E / -1.89; 55.99 (Schroeter) 291.59 298.12 285.7 19 1973 Johann Hieronymus Schröter
Koval'sky 29°44′S 141°26′W / 29.73°S 141.43°W / -29.73; -141.43 (Koval'sky) 296.67 (285.14) 288.89 281.38 20 1985 Marian Albertovich Kowalski
Notes
  1. ^ Data in this table includes contents from:
    • Planetary Names: Search Results, International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature." (access date 2017-06-07). http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/
      • Approval date and Eponym details are only available in this data-set;
    • Mars Crater Database Search, Robbins, S.J., and B.M. Hynek (2012). A New Global Database of Mars Impact Craters ≥1 km: 1. Database Creation, Properties, and Parameters. Journal of Geophysical Research – Planets
      • Elliptical measurements (used to compute the approx. area), and the details on unnamed craters are only available in this data-set.
  2. ^ The entries containing two diameter values are due to presumably newer data being available via GPN (Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature). The value consistent with the Robbins data is included in parenthesis for completeness.

Examples[edit]

An approximate true-color image, taken by Mars exploration rover Opportunity, shows the view of Victoria crater from Cape Verde. It was captured over a three-week period, from October 16 – November 6, 2006.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Staff. "IAU - Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature - Mars". NASA, USGS, IAU. Retrieved 7 March 2014. 
  2. ^ Categories for Naming Features on Planets and Satellites, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, USGS Astrogeology Science Center, NASA

External links[edit]

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