 Columbus crater based onTHEMIS day-time image | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 29°48′S166°06′W / 29.8°S 166.1°W /-29.8; -166.1 |
| Quadrangle | Memnonia |
| Diameter | 119 km |
| Eponym | Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (1451-1506) |
Columbus is a crater in theTerra Sirenum of Mars. It is 119 km in diameter and was named afterChristopher Columbus, Italian explorer (1451–1506).[1][2] The discovery of sulfates and clay minerals in sediments within Columbus crater are strong evidence that a lake once existed in the crater.[3][4] Research with an orbiting near-infraredspectrometer, 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.[5][6] Moreover, because some layers containedgypsum, a sulfate which forms in relatively fresh water, life could have formed in the crater.[7]
Columbus crater contains layers, also called strata. In Columbus crater, the CRISM instrument on theMars Reconnaissance Orbiter foundkaolinite, hydrated sulfates includingalunite and possiblyjarosite.[8] Further study concluded thatgypsum, polyhydrated and monohydrated Mg/Fe-sulfates were common and small deposits of montmorillonite, Fe/Mg-phyllosilicates, and crystalline ferric oxide or hydroxide were found. Thermal emission spectra suggest that some minerals were in the tens of percent range.[4]
