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Secondary Craters

Oct. 7, 2005
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a cluster of craters in far western Arabia Terra on Mars. The crater cluster is oriented along a line that runs nearly left-right across the scene.

7 October 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a cluster of craters in far western Arabia Terra. The crater cluster is oriented along a line that runs nearly east-west (left-right) across the scene. Clusters of craters positioned along a line like this are secondary craters -- that is, they formed as the result of a much larger meteor, asteroid, or cometary impact somewhere else in the region. These craters do not form from the object that impacted Mars to form the larger, primary crater; these are the product of the impact of the rocks and debris thrown out by the larger impact.

Location near: 14.9°N, 19.3°W
Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Autumn

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