{ "title": "Along the Straight Edge", "authors": "HiRISE", "metadata": { "thumbnailURL": "https://static.uahirise.org/images/wallpaper/2560/ESP_064445_1475.jpg", "excerpt": "This crater is an exception to the classic round shape that occurs during high-velocity impacts." }, "version": "1.5", "identifier": "ESP_064445_1475", "language": "en", "layout": { "columns": 10, "width": 1024, "margin": 85, "gutter": 20 }, "documentStyle": { "backgroundColor": "#faf7f2" }, "components": [ { "role": "heading1", "layout": "heading1Layout", "text": "HiPOD: 5 JUNE 2020" }, { "role": "divider", "layout": "bigDividerLayout", "stroke": { "width": 3, "color": "#8c2028" } }, { "role": "title", "layout": "halfMarginBelowLayout", "text": "Along the Straight Edge" }, { "role": "video", "layout": "fullBleedLayout", "URL": "https://uahirise.org/media/clips/ESP_064445_1475_1080.mp4", "stillURL": "https://static.uahirise.org/images/wallpaper/2560/ESP_064445_1475.jpg", "accessibilityCaption": "HiClip narration by Tre Gibbs." }, { "role": "body", "format": "html", "layout": "hipodMarginLayout", "text": "
Most craters are round, because a high-velocity impact acts like a powerful explosion that expands in all directions. This crater is an exception because the northern rim is almost perfectly straight.
One possibility is that there was a zone of joints or faults in the crust that existed before the impact. When the impact happened, the crater formed along the straight line of these faults. Something similar happened to Meteor Crater in Arizona. Our image doesn’t show any faults, but they could be beneath the surface. (Watch the video for more.)
ID: ESP_064445_1475
date: 26 April 2020
altitude: 255 km
NASA/JPL/UArizona