Caloris Basin

Mercury crater data


caption=Mosaic of half of Caloris Basin, photographed by NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft in 1974–75.
latitude=30.5
N_or_S=N
longitude=189.8
E_or_W=W
diameter=1550 km
eponym=Latin for "heat"

The Caloris Basin, also called Caloris Planitia, is an impact crater on Mercury about 1,550 km in diameter,cite news| url=http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn13257-bizarre-spider-scar-found-on-mercurys-surface.html| title=Bizarre spider scar found on Mercury's surface| date= 2008-01-30| publisher= NewScientist.com news service| first= David| last= Shiga] one of the largest impact basins in the solar system. Caloris is Latin for "heat" and the basin is so-named because the Sun is almost directly overhead every second time Mercury passes perihelion. The crater is surrounded by a ring of mountains about two kilometers tall.

Appearance

The Caloris Basin was discovered on images taken by the Mariner 10 probe in 1974. It was situated on the terminator — the line dividing the daytime and nighttime hemispheres — at the time the probe passed by, and so half of the crater could not be imaged. Later, on January 15, 2008, one of the first photos of the planet taken by the MESSENGER probe revealed the crater in its entirety.

The crater was initially estimated to be about 1,300 km (810 miles) in diameter, though this was increased to 1,550 km based on subsequent images taken by MESSENGER. It is ringed by mountains up to 2 km high. Inside the crater walls, the floor of the crater is filled by lava plains, similar to the maria of the Moon. Outside the walls, material ejected in the impact which created the basin extends for 1,000 km, and concentric rings surround the crater.

In the center of the basin is a region containing numerous radial troughs that appear to be extensional faults, with a 40 km crater located near the center of the pattern. The exact cause of this pattern of troughs is not currently known. The feature is named Pantheon Fossae. [ [http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=182 MESSENGER: MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging ] ]

Formation

Bodies in the inner solar system experienced a heavy bombardment of large rocky bodies in the first billion years or so of the solar system. The impact which created the Caloris basin must have occurred after most of the heavy bombardment had finished, because fewer impact craters are seen on its floor than exist on comparably-sized regions outside the crater. Similar impact basins on the Moon such as the Mare Imbrium and Mare Orientale are believed to have formed at about the same time, possibly indicating that there was a 'spike' of large impacts towards the end of the heavy bombardment phase of the early solar system. [Gault D.E., Cassen P., Burns J.A., Strom R.G.(1977), "Mercury", Annual review of astronomy and astrophysics, v. 15, p. 97–126.] Based on MESSENGER's photographs, Caloris' age has been determined to be between 3.8 and 3.9 billion years.

Antipodal chaotic terrain and global effects

The giant impact believed to have formed Caloris may have had global consequences for the planet. At the exact antipode of the basin is a large area of hilly, grooved terrain, with few small impact craters that are known as the Chaotic Terrain (also 'Weird Terrain'). It is thought by some to have been created as seismic waves from the impact converged on the opposite side of the planet. [Schultz P.H., Gault D.E. (1975), "Seismic effects from major basin formations on the moon and Mercury", The Moon, v. 12, p. 159–177.] This hypothetical impact is also believed to have triggered volcanic activity on Mercury, resulting in the formation of smooth plains. [Kiefer W.S., Murray B.C. (1987), "The formation of Mercury's smooth plains", Icarus, v. 72, p. 477–491.]

Surrounding Caloris Basin is a series of geologic formations thought to have been produced by the basin's ejecta, collectively called the Caloris Group.

Emissions of gas

Mercury has a very tenuous and transient atmosphere, containing small amounts of hydrogen and helium captured from the solar wind, as well as heavier elements such as sodium and potassium. These are thought to originate within the planet, being 'out-gassed' from beneath its crust. The Caloris Basin has been found to be a significant source of sodium and potassium, indicating that the fractures created by the impact facilitate the release of gases from within the planet. The Weird Terrain is also a source of these gases. [Sprague A.L., Kozlowski R.W.H., Hunten D.M. (1990), "Caloris Basin — an enhanced source for potassium in Mercury's atmosphere", Science, v. 249, p. 1140–1142.]

References

ee also

*Geology of Mercury
*Skinakas Basin