More dented than dainty, the “Butterfly” on Mars offers astronomers a clear look at an elliptical crater.

While most impact craters are circular, elliptical depression can result from collisions that occur at a very low impact angle of less than 10 degrees.

Researchers believe that the object that formed the “Butterfly” centerpiece of this image slammed into Mars while flying in the direction of the crater’s long axis. Similar craters have been found in different locations on Mars, as well as the Moon, the European Space Agency (ESA) said.

The ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft currently circling the red planet used its high-resolution imager to catch this view of the “Butterfly” along the Hesperia Planum region of Mars.

The crated is about 24.4 kilometers long, 11.2 kilometers wide and about 650 meters deep. The impact that created the crater flung ejecta well away from the landing point, leaving two easily-discerned lobes to the north-west and south-east (north is up) in this image.

For scale, the circular feature cut off by the edge of this image has a diameter of about 45 kilometers.

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)