Milankovic (Martian crater)

For the lunar crater of the same name, see Milankovic (lunar crater).

Milankovic is a crater in the Diacria quadrangle of Mars, having a diameter of 118.4 km. It is located at 54.7° north latitude and 146.7° west longitude. The crater is easy to see on Mars photographs because it lies north of Olympus Mons and sits by itself in the flat plain of Vastitas Borealis. It is named after Milutin Milanković, a Serbian geophysicist and astrophysicist, who lived from 1879 to 1958.

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  Milankovic Crater, as seen by CTX camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

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  Milankovic Crater, as seen by CTX camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Dark dots in center are dunes.

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  Depressions with straight southern walls, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. Box indicates part enlarged in images below. Image location is in Milankovic crater in Diacria quadrangle. These depressions may be an example of scalloped topography.

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  Enlargement of above image of straight walled depression, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. Note that the southern wall is dark compared to the northern wall.

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  Further enlargement of above image, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program.

Why are Craters important?

The density of impact craters is used to determine the surface ages of Mars and other solar system bodies. The older the surface, the more craters present. Crater shapes can reveal the presence of ground ice.

The area around craters may be rich in minerals. On Mars, heat from the impact melts ice in the ground. Water from the melting ice dissolves minerals, and then deposits them in cracks or faults that were produced with the impact. This process, called hydrothermal alteration, is a major way in which ore deposits are produced. The area around Martian craters may be rich in useful ores for the future colonization of Mars.

See also

• Climate of Mars
• Geology of Mars
• Impact crater
• List of craters on Mars
• List of quadrangles on Mars
• Geological history of Mars
• Water on Mars