Gaea (crater)
 Galileo image of Amalthea, with Gaea near the bottom. | |
| Feature type | Impact crater |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 80°00′S 90°00′W / 80.0°S 90.0°W[1] |
| Diameter | 75.0 km (46.6 mi) |
| Depth | >10–20 km (6.2–12.4 mi) |
| Eponym | Gaia |
Gaea is an impact crater on Amalthea, one of the small moons of Jupiter. It is 75 km wide and at least 10–20 km deep.[2] Its center coordinates are -80°S, 90°W.[3] One of two named craters on Amalthea (the other being Pan[4]), it is named after the Greek goddess Gaia.[3]
One third of Gaea's interior is covered by a bright spot, the largest on Amalthea.[2] Its brightness is at least 2.3 times greater than the area outside the crater. It is about 25 km wide and appears to extend beyond the crater.[4]
Gaea is near Amalthea's south pole, far south from the moon's other bright areas, Lyctos Facula and Ida Facula, which are on the slopes of a prominent mountain elongated along the meridian.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Gaea". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. (Center Latitude: -80.0°, Center Longitude: 90.0°; Planetographic, +West)
- ^ a b Ververka J.; Thomas P.; Davies M. E.; Morrison D. (September 1981). "Amalthea: Voyager imaging results". Journal of Geophysical Research. 86 (A10): 8675–8682. Bibcode:1981JGR....86.8675V. doi:10.1029/JA086iA10p08675.
- ^ a b USGS/IAU (October 1, 2006). "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Gaea on Amalthea". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
- ^ a b Thomas, P. C.; Burns, J. A.; Rossier, L.; Simonelli, D.; Veverka, J.; Chapman, C. R.; Klaasen, K.; Johnson, T. V.; Belton, M. J. S.; Galileo Solid State Imaging Team (September 1998). "The Small Inner Satellites of Jupiter". Icarus. 135 (1): 360–371. Bibcode:1998Icar..135..360T. doi:10.1006/icar.1998.5976.
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