Denning (Martian crater)

Denning Crater

A map of Denning Crater. Up is north.
Planet	Mars
Region	Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle Terra Sabaea circum-Hellas highlands
Coordinates	17°42′S 326°36′W / 17.7°S 326.6°W / -17.7; -326.6
Quadrangle	Sinus Sabaeus
Diameter	165 km
Eponym	William F. Denning, a British astronomer (1848-1931)

Denning Crater is a large Noachian-age impact crater in the southwestern Terra Sabaea region of the southern Martian highlands, within the Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle. It is located to the northwest of the Hellas impact basin within the furthest outskirts of the Hellas debris apron. The crater is 165 km in diameter and likely formed during the Late Heavy Bombardment, a period of intense bolide impacts affecting the entirety of the Solar System; during the Hesperian period, aeolian processes caused significant degradation of the crater's rim features and infilled the crater's floor (which is nearly at the same elevation as the surrounding plains terrain). Similar to other large craters in this region of Mars, wind-eroded features are sporadically found on the basin floor. The presence of wrinkle ridges of varying orientations within and around the Denning basin has been correlated to regional tectonic events, including the formation of the Hellas basin itself. The crater was named for British astronomer William Frederick Denning.