Explosive Crater's Central Pit Wallpaper

Crater in Thaumasia Planum space wallpaper

This cool space wallpaper shows a perspective view of a 50 km diameter crater in Thaumasia Planum. (Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum))

This cool space wallpaper shows a perspective view of a 50 km diameter crater in Thaumasia Planum. The image was made by combining data from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express with digital terrain models. The image was taken on Jan. 4, 2013 during orbit 11467, and shows a close up view of the central ‘pit’ of this crater, which likely formed by a subsurface explosion as the heat from the impact event rapidly vapourised water or ice lying below the surface.

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