Eridania Planitia is a plain located in the southern highlands of Mars. It borders the Hellas basin to the west, Promethei Terra to the south, and the massive shield volcano Hesperia Planum to the north.[2] The name Eridania Planitia was approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on 22 September 2010; it is named after the closest classical albedo feature.[1]

Eridania Planitia
Feature typePlains
LocationEridania quadrangle, Mars
Coordinates38°09′S 122°13′E / 38.15°S 122.21°E / -38.15; 122.21[1]
Diameter1,062.13 km (659.98 mi)
EponymLands of Eridanos

Characteristics

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As with much of the Martian southern highlands, Eridania Planitia is ancient, with an estimated age of roughly 3.7–4 billion years old.[3] However, subregions within the plains are younger, with a large depression (informally named the Morpheos basin) likely forming within a period spanning between 3.52–3.67 billion years ago.[2] Additionally, Eridania Planitia is host to a concentration of expanded craters, indicating an ice-rich subsurface.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Eridania Planitia". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. (Center Latitude: -38.15°, Center Longitude: 122.21°)
  2. ^ a b Kostama, V. -P.; Kukkonen, S.; Raitala, J. (June 2017). "Resurfacing event observed in Morpheos basin (Eridania Planitia) and the implications to the formation and timing of Waikato and Reull Valles, Mars". Planetary and Space Science. 140: 35–48. Bibcode:2017P&SS..140...35K. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2017.04.001.
  3. ^ Bates, A.; Goossens, S.; Lorenzo, J. M.; Ojha, L.; Hood, D. R.; Karunatillake, S.; Nawotniak, S. K.; Paladino, T. (January 2023). "Supervolcanic resurfacing in northwestern Arabia Terra, Mars". Icarus. 390: 115303. Bibcode:2023Icar..39015303B. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115303.
  4. ^ Viola, D.; McEwan, A. S. (9 January 2018). "Geomorphological Evidence for Shallow Ice in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 123 (1): 262–277. Bibcode:2018JGRE..123..262V. doi:10.1002/2017JE005366. hdl:10150/627126.


 Acheron FossaeAcidalia PlanitiaAlba MonsAmazonis PlanitiaAonia PlanitiaArabia TerraArcadia PlanitiaArgentea PlanumArgyre PlanitiaChryse PlanitiaClaritas FossaeCydonia MensaeDaedalia PlanumElysium MonsElysium PlanitiaGale craterHadriaca PateraHellas MontesHellas PlanitiaHesperia PlanumHolden craterIcaria PlanumIsidis PlanitiaJezero craterLomonosov craterLucus PlanumLycus SulciLyot craterLunae PlanumMalea PlanumMaraldi craterMareotis FossaeMareotis TempeMargaritifer TerraMie craterMilankovič craterNepenthes MensaeNereidum MontesNilosyrtis MensaeNoachis TerraOlympica FossaeOlympus MonsPlanum AustralePromethei TerraProtonilus MensaeSirenumSisyphi PlanumSolis PlanumSyria PlanumTantalus FossaeTempe TerraTerra CimmeriaTerra SabaeaTerra SirenumTharsis MontesTractus CatenaTyrrhena TerraUlysses PateraUranius PateraUtopia PlanitiaValles MarinerisVastitas BorealisXanthe Terra
 Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars. Hover over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.


See also

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