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Heimdal (Martian crater)
Encyclopedia
Heimdal is a relatively recent impact crater
on the planet
Mars
. It lies in Vastitas Borealis
, the northern plain. It is named after Heimdal
, a town in Norway
.
The crater is approximately 20 kilometers from the landing site of the Phoenix lander
. The landing site area is believed to be blanketed by ejecta excavated by the impact that created Heimdal. The spacecraft was photographed during landing by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
, and was captured parachuting in the line of sight to the crater. While appearing to be over the crater, the craft was actually 20 km in front of it.
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
on the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. It lies in Vastitas Borealis
Vastitas Borealis
Vastitas Borealis is the largest lowland region of Mars. It is in the northerly latitudes of the planet and encircles the northern polar region. Vastitas Borealis is often simply referred to as the Northern plains or Northern lowlands of Mars. The plains lie 4–5 km below the mean radius of...
, the northern plain. It is named after Heimdal
Heimdal, Hedmark
Heimdal is a village in Løten municipality, Norway, located a few miles north of the urban area Løten. Its population is 300.-References:...
, a town in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
The crater is approximately 20 kilometers from the landing site of the Phoenix lander
Phoenix (spacecraft)
Phoenix was a robotic spacecraft on a space exploration mission on Mars under the Mars Scout Program. The Phoenix lander descended on Mars on May 25, 2008...
. The landing site area is believed to be blanketed by ejecta excavated by the impact that created Heimdal. The spacecraft was photographed during landing by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is a NASA multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and Exploration of Mars from orbit...
, and was captured parachuting in the line of sight to the crater. While appearing to be over the crater, the craft was actually 20 km in front of it.