Púnsk (crater)

Púnsk Crater
	200px Púnsk Crater, as seen by HiRISE. Scale bar is 500 meters long. Click on image to see possible fine layers on floor. Image on right is an enlargement of south (bottom) wall of crater.
Planet	Mars
Coordinates	Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Diameter	11.6 km
Eponym	Puńsk, Poland

Púnsk Crater is an impact crater in the Oxia Palus quadrangle of Mars, located at 20.8° N and 41.2° W. It is 11.6 km in diameter and was named after Puńsk, Poland.^[1] Impact craters generally have a rim with ejecta around them, in contrast volcanic craters usually do not have a rim or ejecta deposits. As craters get larger (greater than 10 km in diameter) they usually have a central peak.^[2] The peak is caused by a rebound of the crater floor following the impact.^[3]

Wikipunsk.jpg

Punsk Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter).

Why are Craters important?

The density of impact craters is used to determine the surface ages of Mars and other solar system bodies.^[2] The older the surface, the more craters present. Crater shapes can reveal the presence of ground ice.

The area around craters may be rich in minerals. On Mars, heat from the impact melts ice in the ground. Water from the melting ice dissolves minerals, and then deposits them in cracks or faults that were produced with the impact. This process, called hydrothermal alteration, is a major way in which ore deposits are produced. The area around Martian craters may be rich in useful ores for the future colonization of Mars.^[4]