Gale (crater)
Aeolis Mons rises from the middle of the crater - the green dot marks the Curiosity rover landing site in Aeolis Palus (click the image to expand, the dot is barely visible at this scale. North is down in this image.
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| Planet | Mars |
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| Coordinates | 5°24′S 137°48′E / 5.4°S 137.8°ECoordinates: 5°24′S 137°48′E / 5.4°S 137.8°E |
| Diameter | 154 km (96 mi) |
| Eponym | Walter Frederick Gale |
Gale is a crater on Mars near the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle at 5°24′S 137°48′E / 5.4°S 137.8°E. It is 154 km (96 mi) in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5-3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur astronomer from Sydney, Australia, who observed Mars in the late 19th century.Aeolis Mons is a mountain in the center of Gale and rises 5.5 km (18,000 ft) high.Aeolis Palus is the plain between the northern wall of Gale and the northern foothills of Aeolis Mons.Peace Vallis, a nearby outflow channel, 'flows' down from the Gale crater hills to the Aeolis Palus below and seems to have been carved by flowing water.
The NASA Mars rover, Curiosity, of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, landed in "Yellowknife" Quad 51 of Aeolis Palus in Gale at 05:32 UTC August 6, 2012. NASA named the landing location Bradbury Landing on August 22, 2012.Curiosity is exploring Aeolis Mons and surrounding areas.
Gale crater, named for Walter F. Gale (1865-1945), an amateur astronomer from Australia, spans 154 km (96 mi) in diameter and holds a mountain, Aeolis Mons (informally named "Mount Sharp" to pay tribute to geologist Robert P. Sharp) rising 18,000 ft (5,500 m) from the crater floor, higher than Mount Rainier rises above Seattle. Gale is roughly the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
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Wikipedia