Astronomy:Cerberus Palus

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Cerberus Palus
Cerberus Palus THEMIS mosaic.jpg
Cerberus Palus, as seen by THEMIS.
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 5°30′N 150°30′E / 5.5°N 150.5°E / 5.5; 150.5

Cerberus Palus is a plain in the Elysium quadrangle of Mars, centered at [ ⚑ ] 5°48′N 148°06′E / 5.8°N 148.1°E / 5.8; 148.1. It is 470 km across and was named after a classical albedo feature Cerberus.[1]

Cerberus Palus once contained a lake fed by Athabasca Valles and draining into Lethe Vallis. According to different researches, it could be a lake of water[2] or lava.[3] It is notable by giant plates (up to 50 km and more), similar to pack ice,[2] but possibly pieces of lava crust.[3] Gaps between the plates contain spiral-shaped geological features, probably lava coils.[3][4]

References

  1. "Cerberus Palus". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Murray J. B.Expression error: Unrecognized word "et". (2005). "Evidence from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera for a frozen sea close to Mars' equator". Nature 434 (7031): 352–356. doi:10.1038/nature03379. PMID 15772653. Bibcode2005Natur.434..352M. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ryan, A. J.; Christensen, P. R. (26 April 2012). "Coils and Polygonal Crust in the Athabasca Valles Region, Mars, as Evidence for a Volcanic History". Science 336 (6080): 449–452. doi:10.1126/science.1219437. PMID 22539716. Bibcode2012Sci...336..449R. 
  4. Lakdawalla, Emily. "Swirly lava patterns in beautiful HiRISE images". http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2012/20121626.html. 

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