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Venus: Mead Crater


The multi-ringed Mead Crater  (named after anthropologist Margaret Mead) is the largest impact crater on Venus, measuring 280 km in diameter. It is located north of Aphrodite Terra at latitude 12.50 N, longitude 57.20 E.

This radar view from the Magellan spacecraft shows several distinct features. The flat, radar-bright central floor (A) has several cracks showing as even brighter lines.  The crater has both inner (C) and and outer (D) rings.

Beyond, areas of ejecta (E) show as rough patches, whose slopes facing the radar making them appear brighter than the surrounding plain (G). These outside regions are covered with fine dust and debris which appears dark in the image.

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[Fig.1: Radar image of Mead Crater, Venus (NASA/JPL Magellan).]

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