Lyot (Martian crater)

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Template:MarsGeo-Crater Lyot is a large crater in the Vastitas Borealis region of Mars, located at 50.8° north latitude and 330.7° west longitude within the Ismenius Lacus quadrangle. It is 236 km in diameter and was named after Bernard Lyot, a French astronomer (1897–1952).[1] The name was approved in 1973 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN).[2] Lyot stands out on the flat plains of Vastitas Borealis, which is generally flat and smooth with few large craters.[3] Lyot is the deepest point in Mars's northern hemisphere.[4]

Research published in June 2009 describes evidence for liquid water in Lyot in the past.[5]

Former rivers

Images from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show valleys carved by rivers on the floor of Lyot Crater. Scientists are excited because the rivers seem to have formed more recently than others on Mars; water could have flowed in them only 1.25 million years ago. The source of the water is believed to have been ice from nearby glaciers. The river valleys are over 250 meters wide and tens of kilometers long.[6]

  • Wide view of channels in Lyot Crater, as seen by HiRISE unser HiWish program
    Wide view of channels in Lyot Crater, as seen by HiRISE unser HiWish program
  • Close view of channels in Lyot Crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
    Close view of channels in Lyot Crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
  • Close view of channels in Lyot Crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
    Close view of channels in Lyot Crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
  • Curved channel in Lyot Crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
    Curved channel in Lyot Crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
  • Channels in Lyot as seen by HiRISE.]]
    Channels in Lyot as seen by HiRISE.]]

Dust devil tracks

Many areas on Mars, including Lyot, experience the passage of giant dust devils. A thin coating of fine bright dust covers most of the Martian surface. When a dust devil goes by it blows away the coating and exposes the underlying dark surface. These dust devils have been seen from the ground and high overhead from orbit.

Gallery

  • MOLA map of Lyot and other nearby craters. Colors indicate elevations.
    MOLA map of Lyot and other nearby craters. Colors indicate elevations.
  • Map of Ismenius Lacus quadrangle which is located just north of Arabia, a large bright area of Mars. Lyot Crater is easily seen near the center of the map.
    Map of Ismenius Lacus quadrangle which is located just north of Arabia, a large bright area of Mars. Lyot Crater is easily seen near the center of the map.
  • Lyot Crater Gullies, as seen by HiRISE.
    Lyot Crater Gullies, as seen by HiRISE.
  • Lyot Crater Channel, as seen by CTX. Water-carved channels have been spotted in Lyot Crater; the curved line may be one. Click on image for a better view.
    Lyot Crater Channel, as seen by CTX. Water-carved channels have been spotted in Lyot Crater; the curved line may be one. Click on image for a better view.

Interactive Mars map

Map of MarsAcheron FossaeAcidalia PlanitiaAlba MonsAmazonis PlanitiaAonia PlanitiaArabia TerraArcadia PlanitiaArgentea PlanumArgyre PlanitiaChryse PlanitiaClaritas FossaeCydonia MensaeDaedalia PlanumElysium MonsElysium PlanitiaGale craterHadriaca PateraHellas MontesHellas PlanitiaHesperia PlanumHolden craterIcaria PlanumIsidis PlanitiaJezero craterLomonosov craterLucus PlanumLycus SulciLyot craterLunae PlanumMalea PlanumMaraldi craterMareotis FossaeMareotis TempeMargaritifer TerraMie craterMilankovič craterNepenthes MensaeNereidum MontesNilosyrtis MensaeNoachis TerraOlympica FossaeOlympus MonsPlanum AustralePromethei TerraProtonilus MensaeSirenumSisyphi PlanumSolis PlanumSyria PlanumTantalus FossaeTempe TerraTerra CimmeriaTerra SabaeaTerra SirenumTharsis MontesTractus CatenaTyrrhena TerraUlysses PateraUranius PateraUtopia PlanitiaValles MarinerisVastitas BorealisXanthe Terra
The image above contains clickable linksInteractive image map of the global topography of Mars. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.


See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.google.com/mars/
  2. ^ http://plantarynames.wr.usgs.gov
  3. ^ U.S. department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey, Topographic Map of the Eastern Region of Mars M 15M 0/270 2AT, 1991
  4. ^ http://space.com/scienceastronomy/090514--mars-rivers.html
  5. ^ Dickson, J. L., Fassett, C. I., Head, J. W., Amazonian-aged fluvial valley systems in a climatic microenvironment on Mars: Melting of ice deposits on the interior of Lyot Crater, GRL, vol. 36, 2009 http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009GeoRL..3608201D
  6. ^ http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090514-mars-rivers.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lyot (Martian crater).
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