Pangboche (crater) explained

Titlecolor:
  1. FA8072
Pangboche Crater
Coordinate Title:Coordinates
Globe:Mars
Coordinates:17.22°N -133.62°W
Diameter:10 km
Eponym:a village in Nepal

Pangboche is a young impact crater on Mars, in the Tharsis quadrangle near the summit of Olympus Mons.[1] It was named after a village in Nepal.[2] It measures 10 kilometer in diameter, and is at 17.47° N and 133.4° W.

The average depth of the crater is 954 m, and the height of the crater rim varies between 80 and 240 meters. Pangboche formed in young lava flows on the flank of Olympus Mons. The morphology of Pangboche is very similar to that of lunar craters, likely due to the lack of volatiles in both the atmosphere and the target.[3] It lacks several features often attributed to the presence of volatiles in the target rocks, including layered ejecta and lobate flows. It is a complex crater featuring a flat floor and several terraces. Pangboche is estimated to be less than 240 million years old.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Mouginis-Mark. Peter J.. 1 January 2015. Cratering on Mars with almost no atmosphere or volatiles: Pangboche crater. Meteoritics & Planetary Science. en. 50. 1. 51–62. 10.1111/maps.12400. 1945-5100. 2015M&PS...50...51M. free.
  2. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov
  3. Osinski . Gordon R. . Tornabene . Livio L. . Grieve. Richard A. F. . 1 October 2011. Impact ejecta emplacement on terrestrial planets . Earth and Planetary Science Letters . 310. 3–4. 167–181. 10.1016/j.epsl.2011.08.012. 2011E&PSL.310..167O.
  4. Robbins. Stuart J.. Achille. Gaetano Di. Hynek. Brian M.. 1 February 2011. The volcanic history of Mars: High-resolution crater-based studies of the calderas of 20 volcanoes. Icarus. 211. 2. 1179–1203. 10.1016/j.icarus.2010.11.012. 2011Icar..211.1179R.