- Galle (Martian crater)
MarsGeo-Crater
name=Galle
latitude=51.2
N_or_S=S
longitude= 30.9
E_or_W=W
diameter= 230.0 km
eponym=Johann Gottfried Galle Galle is a crater on
Mars . It is located on the eastern rim of the hugeimpact basin Argyre Planitia . It is named after theastronomer Johann Gottfried Galle .Galle is often known as the "happy face crater" because the illusion of a
smiley is created by a semicircular mountain range and two smaller craters within the main crater. The formation was first photographed by Viking Orbiter 1.The Galle crater appears in
Alan Moore 's graphic novel "Watchmen ".A second "happy face crater", smaller than Galle and located at 45.1°S, 55.0°W in
Nereidum Montes , was discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on January 28, 2008. [ [http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00001314/ Have a happy day on Mars - The Planetary Society Blog | The Planetary Society ] ]References
ee also
* The Face on Mars
External links
* [http://www.google.com/mars/#lat=-50.972264&lon=-31.772460&zoom=6 Galle Crater in Google Mars]
* [http://science.nasa.gov/current/event/ast12mar99_1.htm The Galle Crater on NASA.gov]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.