A triple crater is noticeable in the ancient Martian highlands. Scientists suggest that he appeared because of the triple drummer. Perhaps it was a meteorite, broken into three pieces at the entrance to the atmosphere. Asymmetry suggests that the strike was carried out at a slight angle. The picture was taken by the Mars-Express camera on January 28, 2017.
It is about the crater Terra Sirenum, located in the southern highlands. It is 45 km long and 24 km wide. As a result of the impact, two craters of the same size and one smaller were formed. Together they resemble a giant footprint. At the bottom there are two groups of incomprehensible material. These peaks are created as the initial crater cavity created during a gravity strike.
It is believed that they appeared at one time. But scientists still doubt what exactly happened. For example, it could be one object, scattered into three fragments.
This is the location of the “triple crater”. The area is marked with a white frame.
There is also an idea that the whole thing is in the impact of a double or triple asteroid. In any case, craters appear to be the same with uniform cracks. So, it happened at one time. In addition, the discarded material was distributed unevenly, due to which two dominant lobes were created on opposite sides. Because of this, it becomes clear that the impact occurred at a slight angle, and the object moved from the upper right corner to the lower left, which led to a strong deflection of the outburst.
A color-coded topographic view showing elevation and depth in the Terra Sirenum area. White and red are the highest points, and blue and purple are low.
The ejected material got into the neighboring craters. Two smaller ones were formed at different times, which is determined by the laws of superposition. Their rims are well distinguishable, which means that a larger crater managed to form before them.
At the inner crater the rim shape is deformed, which may be associated with the formation of an elongated crater. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to find the signatures of clay minerals in the layered mineral inside the craters and on the plains between them. This indicates that 3.7 billion years ago there was water here.
A perspective view of the elongated crater in Terra Sirenum, 45 x 24 km in size.
