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Sveinsdóttir (crater)
Encyclopedia
Sveinsdóttir is a large impact crater
on Mercury
. Its dimensions are .
Sveinsdóttir crater superimposed by Beagle Rupes
is a distinctive feature on Mercury's landscape. Unusually elliptical in shape, the crater was produced by the impact of an object that hit Mercury's surface oblique
ly. The floor of Sveinsdóttir was later covered by the smooth plains material and deformed by wrinkle-ridge
s before the scarp appeared.
More than 600 kilometres (372.8 mi) long and one of the largest fault scarps on the planet, Beagle Rupes marks the surface expression of a large thrust fault believed to have formed as Mercury cooled and the entire planet shrank.Beagle Rupes crosscuts Sveinsdóttir crater and has uplifted the easternmost portion (right side portion) of the crater floor by almost a kilometer, indicating that most of the fault activity at Beagle Rupes occurred after the impact that created Sveinsdóttir. Crosscutting relationships such as this are used to understand the sequence in time of the different processes that have affected Mercury’s evolution.
The crater is named after Júlíana Sveinsdóttir
, an Icelandic painter and textile artist.
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 Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
. Its dimensions are .
Sveinsdóttir crater superimposed by Beagle Rupes
Beagle Rupes
Beagle Rupes is an escarpment on Mercury, one of the highest and longest yet seen. It was discovered in 2008 when MESSENGER made its first flyby of the planet. It has an arcuate shape and is about 600 km long. The scarp is a surface manifestation of a thrust fault, which formed when the planet...
is a distinctive feature on Mercury's landscape. Unusually elliptical in shape, the crater was produced by the impact of an object that hit Mercury's surface oblique
Oblique
Oblique may refer to:*Oblique angle, in geometry, an angle that is not a multiple of 90 degrees*Oblique angle, synonym for Dutch angle, a cinematographic technique*Oblique , by jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson...
ly. The floor of Sveinsdóttir was later covered by the smooth plains material and deformed by wrinkle-ridge
Wrinkle-ridge
A wrinkle ridge is a type of feature commonly found on lunar maria. These features are low, sinuous ridges formed on the mare surface that can extend for up to several hundred kilometers. Wrinkle ridges are tectonic features created when the basaltic lava first cooled and contracted...
s before the scarp appeared.
More than 600 kilometres (372.8 mi) long and one of the largest fault scarps on the planet, Beagle Rupes marks the surface expression of a large thrust fault believed to have formed as Mercury cooled and the entire planet shrank.Beagle Rupes crosscuts Sveinsdóttir crater and has uplifted the easternmost portion (right side portion) of the crater floor by almost a kilometer, indicating that most of the fault activity at Beagle Rupes occurred after the impact that created Sveinsdóttir. Crosscutting relationships such as this are used to understand the sequence in time of the different processes that have affected Mercury’s evolution.
The crater is named after Júlíana Sveinsdóttir
Júlíana Sveinsdóttir
Júlíana Sveinsdóttir was one of Iceland's first woman painters and textile artists. Taught initially by prominent Icelandic artist Þórarinn B...
, an Icelandic painter and textile artist.