Orcus Patera
{{Short description|Geographic region of Mars}}
Orcus Patera is a region on the surface of the planet Mars first photographed by Mariner 4. Of unknown formation, whether by volcanic, tectonic, or cratering causes, the region includes a depression about {{convert|380|km|mi|abbr=off}} long, {{convert|140|km|mi|abbr=off}} wide, surrounded by a rim up to {{convert|1.8|km|mi|0|abbr=off}} high.
Description
Orcus Patera was first imaged by Mariner 4.{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Dave|last2=Friedlander|first2=Jay|title=The Orcus Patera region on Mars|url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/m04_03b.html|website=Mars - Mariner 4|publisher=NASA|access-date=December 20, 2015}} It is a depression about {{convert|380|km|mi|abbr=off}} long, {{convert|140|km|mi|abbr=off}} wide, and about {{convert|0.5|km|mi|frac=12|abbr=off}} deep but with a relatively smooth floor. It has a rim up to {{convert|1.8|km|mi|0|abbr=off}} high.
It has experienced aeolian processes, and has some small craters and graben structures. However, it is not known how the patera originally formed. Theories include volcanic, tectonic, or cratering events. A study in 2000 that incorporated new results from Mars Global Surveyor along with older Viking data, did not come out clearly in favor of either volcanic or cratering processes.[http://keckgeology.org/files/pdf/symvol/14th/mars/tribbetvanderkolk.pdf Orcus Patera : Impact Crater or Volcanic Caldera? (2000)]
Mars Express observed this region in 2005, yielding a digital terrain model and color pictures.{{cite web |url=http://www.planet.geo.fu-berlin.de/eng/projects/mars/hrsc471-OrcusPatera.php |title=HRSC Press Release #471 - Orcus Patera (orbit 2216 & 2238) |date=2010-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807204112/http://www.planet.geo.fu-berlin.de/eng/projects/mars/hrsc471-OrcusPatera.php |archive-date=2014-08-07}}
Images
=Viking=
{{wideimage|OrcusPatera zoom.jpg|400px|Orcus Patera by a Viking Orbiter. Orcus Patera is the elongated crater in the center. This is in the Elysium Planitia region.{{Cite web|url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00175|title=Catalog Page for PIA00175}}}}
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=Mars Express=
{{wideimage|Orcus Patera by HRSC.jpg|800px|Mars Express HRSC natural color image of Orcus Patera}}
{{wideimage|Elevation of Orcus Patera and surroundings.jpg|800px|Mars Express HRSC topographic view of Orcus Patera with colors coding for elevation}}
Location
Orcus Patera is west of Olympus Mons and east of Elysium Mons. It is about halfway between those two volcanoes, and east and north of Gale crater.
{{wideimage|Elysium Planitia topo.jpg|800px|In this labeled elevation map (color corresponds to elevation in this view of Elysium Planitia), the location of Orcus Patera can be identified in upper right. Gale crater, where the Curiosity Mars rover landed in 2012 is in the lower left, and InSight landed north of Gale in 2018.}}
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File:USGS-Mars-MC-15-ElysiumRegion-mola.png
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See also
- Marte Vallis
- Tartarus Colles
- Schiller (crater) (elongated Lunar feature)
- Eden Patera (suspect collapsed caldera or impact crater)
External links
- [http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Mars_Express/SEMDV9BO3DG_0.html ESA - Mars’s mysterious elongated crater (27 August 2010)]
- [http://www.google.com/mars/#lat=38.134556&lon=-149.589843&q=Orcus%20Patera Google Mars - Orcus Patera]
- [http://www.uahirise.org/ESP_045542_1950 Crater in Orcus Patera (MRO HiRISE)]
- http://www.uahirise.org/results.php?keyword=Orcus+Patera&order=release_date&submit=Search
- [http://keckgeology.org/files/pdf/symvol/14th/mars/tribbetvanderkolk.pdf Orcus Patera : Impact Crater or Volcanic Caldera? (2000)]
{{Commons category|Orcus Patera}}