 Martian impact crater Herschel based on THEMIS image | |
| Planet | Mars |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 14°54′S130°00′E / 14.9°S 130°E /-14.9; 130 |
| Quadrangle | Mare Tyrrhenum |
| Diameter | 304.5 km |
| Eponym | William Herschel &John Herschel |
Herschel is animpact crater[1] inMars'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 theMare Tyrrhenum region[2] of Mars. The crater is jointly named after the seventeenth/eighteenth century father and sonastronomersWilliam Herschel andJohn Herschel.[3]
Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft originally photographed fields of darksand dunes within Herschel.[4][5] Images from theNASAMars Reconnaissance Orbiter showed that sand dunes on the floor of the Herschel crater are not stationary (as previously believed), but moved over time. Images from photos taken by the Orbiter'sHigh Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on March 3, 2007 and December 1, 2010 show clear shifting of dunes and ripples.[6] Research published in Icarus stated that the dunes in Hershel Crater moved 0.8 m in a time span of 3.7 Earth-years. Also, it was determined that dune ripple moved 1.1 m in that time period.[7]
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