Close up of eskers in Lau Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). The dark lines are dust devil tracks. Note: this is an enlargement of the previous image of Lau Crater.
Lau Crater is an impact crater in the Mare Australe quadrangle of Mars, located at 74.4°S latitude and 107.8°W longitude. It is 104.9 km in diameter. It was named after Danish astronomer Hans E. Lau, and the name was approved in 1973 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN).[1]
The curved ridges observed on the crater floor are believed to be eskers, which form when streams run under a glacier.[2] These eskers would indicate a large, thick sheet of ice once covered this region. Dark lines in close view image are dust devil tracks.
See also[]
List of craters on Mars
References[]
^"Lau". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
^Namowitz, S., D. Stone. 1975. Earth Science The World We Live In. American Book Company. New York.