IMPACT CRATERS ON THE PLANETS

The impact of asteroids, comets, and meteorites onto the surfaces of planets is a major geologic process. Craters are the most common features on some planets. The morphology of impact craters is more complex in larger craters. Larger craters collapse, forming terraces, central peaks, central pits, or multiple rings. Although crater morphology is similar on most of the planets, there are important differences. Most of these differences are related to the presence of ice in the crusts of Mars and the icy satellites. Most of these stereo views were constructed from images obtained by Apollo astronauts, shuttle astronauts, and interplanetary spacecraft.

Click on the images to view at full resolution.
Images should be viewed using red-blue stereo glasses.

[  Mercury   |  Venus  |   Moon  |

  Jupiter  |   Saturn  |   Uranus  ]

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Mercury

SITE: Discovery Rupes
REGION: Discovery Quadrangle
PLANET: Mercury
FEATURES: Volcanic Plains
Thrust Scarps
Impact Craters

Venus

SITE: Geopert-Meyer
REGION: Ishtar Terra
PLANET: Venus
FEATURES: Impact Craters
Fold Belts

Moon

SITE: King Crater (Overview)
REGION: Farside Terra
SATELLITE: Moon
PLANET: Earth
FEATURES: Complex Impact Crater

Jupiter

SITE: Isis
REGION: Osiris Region
SATELLITE: Ganymede
PLANET: Jupiter
FEATURES: Impact crater
Central pit
Caldera
Bright terrain

Saturn

REGION: Aeneas Region
SATELLITE: Dione
PLANET: Saturn
FEATURES: Impact craters
Smooth plains
Extensional faults

Uranus

SITE: Inverness Corona
REGION: Southern Hemisphere
SATELLITE: Miranda
PLANET: Saturn
FEATURES: Extensional faults
Lava flows
Impact craters

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Image processing by Paul Schenk, David Gwynn, and James Tutor, Lunar and Planetary Institute.

©Lunar and Planetary Institute, 2000