Zunil (crater)

Zunil
Zunil crater as seen by CTX
PlanetMars
RegionAthabasca Valles
Coordinates7°48′N 193°54′W / 7.8°N 193.9°W / 7.8; -193.9
QuadrangleElysium
Diameter10.26 km (6.38 mi)
EponymZunil, Guatemala

Zunil is an impact crater near the Cerberus Fossae on Mars, with a diameter of 10.26 kilometres (6.38 miles). It is named after the town of Zunil in Guatemala.[1] The crater is located in the Elysium quadrangle. Visible in images from the Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars orbiters in the 1970s, Zunil was subsequently imaged at higher resolution for the first time by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in 2000.[2]

A ray system associated with the Zunil impact, visible in infrared images from the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Spectrometer (THEMIS) was later detailed by McEwen et al. (2003); before this, large craters with ray systems had not been seen on Mars.[3]

The debris from a recent landslide was first spotted on the south-east wall of the crater by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in 2003,[4] and was subsequently imaged at higher resolution by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) in December 2006.[5]

  1. ^ "Zunil (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ^ "MOC narrow-angle image M21-00859—Crater traverse at 7.8 N 193.8 W". Malin Space Science Systems. Archived from the original on 2003-06-27. Retrieved 2001-10-08.
  3. ^ McEwen; et al. (2003). Discovery of a large rayed crater on Mars: Implications for recent volcanic and fluvial activity and the origin of Martian meteorites (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
  4. ^ "MOC narrow-angle image R08-02140—Zunil Crater and its ejecta". Malin Space Science Systems. Archived from the original on 2004-11-06. Retrieved 2004-04-20.
  5. ^ "Recent Landslide in Zunil Crater (PSP_001764_1880)". University of Arizona. Retrieved 2008-06-28.