Ganymede: Nergal Crater | PIA01088 | ||
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Two impact craters surrounded by an unusual ejecta blanket dominate this high resolution image of the surface of Jupiter's moon, Ganymede. | ||
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Image Credit: JPL, Brown University | |||
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Two impact craters surrounded by an unusual ejecta blanket dominate this high resolution image of the surface of Jupiter's moon, Ganymede. NASA's Galileo spacecraft imaged this region as it passed Ganymede during its second orbit through the Jovian system. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from the southeast. Nergal, the larger crater, is about eight kilometers in diameter, while the smaller (unnamed) crater to its west is three kilometers across. | ![]() |
The
craters are situated in a region of bright grooved terrain named Byblus
Sulcus, located in the northern part of Marius Regio at 39 degrees latitude
and 201 degrees longitude. The distinctive ejecta blanket that surrounds
them is darker nearer the craters and brighter further away. The inner region
of the ejecta is characterized by a lobate appearance indicative of the
flow of a liquid (or slushy) substance over the surface. The flow was probably
icy surface material melted by the energy released during the impact that
formed the crater. The picture covers an area about 48 kilometers by 34 kilometers across at a resolution of 86 meters per picture element. The image was taken on September 6, 1996 by the solid state imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft. |
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