DLR Institute of Planetary Research - 18.11.2011 - Dark material associated with and between craters

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18.11.2011 - Dark material associated with and between craters

This Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows areas of dark material which are both associated with impact craters and between these craters. Dark material is seen cropping out of the rims and sides of the larger craters in this image. Then it frequently slumps down towards the centers of these craters. Also, there are some small dark rayed craters such as the crater near the bottom of the right edge of the image. But, many of the spots of dark material in this image appear to not be associated with any impact craters. These spots are frequently only a few pixels across so it is possible that they are in fact associated with impact craters which are just not visible at this resolution. It will be interesting to see if such tiny impact craters become visible when Dawn reaches its higher resolution LAMO (Low Altitude Mapping Orbit) phase. There is also bright material visible in this image, most noticeably in the part of the large crater visible in the top right of the image.

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