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Chain Gang

Aug. 6, 2006
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a chain of clustered and battered craters. These were formed by secondary impact.

6 August 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a chain of clustered and battered craters. These were formed by secondary impact. That is, somewhere to the south (beyond the bottom of this image), a large impact crater formed. When this occurred, material ejected from the crater was thrown tens to hundreds of kilometers away. This material then impacted the martian surface, forming clusters and chains of smaller craters.

Location near: 15.8°N, 35.6°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Northern Spring

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