Tikhonravov (crater)

Tikonravov
Planet Mars
Coordinates 13°30′S 324°12′W / 13.5°S 324.2°W / -13.5; -324.2Coordinates: 13°30′S 324°12′W / 13.5°S 324.2°W / -13.5; -324.2
Diameter 386 km
Eponym Mikhail Tikhonravov

Tikhonravov is a large, eroded crater in the Arabia quadrangle of Mars. It is 386.0 kilometres (240 mi) in diameter and was named after Mikhail Tikhonravov, a Russian rocket scientist.[1] Tikonravov is believed to have once held a giant lake that drained into the 4500 km long Naktong-Scamander-Mamers lake-chain system. An inflow and outflow channel has been identified.[2]

Pedestal craters

Some craters in Tikhonravov are classified as pedestal craters. A pedestal crater is a crater with its ejecta sitting above the surrounding terrain. They form when an impact crater ejects material which forms an erosion resistant layer, thus causing the immediate area to erode more slowly than the rest of the region. The result is that both the crater and its ejecta blanket stand above the surroundings.[3]

References

  1. Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Tikhonravov
  2. Fassett, C. and J. Head III. 2008. Valley network-fed, open-basin lakes on Mars: Distribution and implications for Noachian surface and subsurface hydrology. Icarus: 198. 39-56.
  3. http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_008508_1870
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