This amoeba-shaped depression on Mars, called Orcus Patera, has had planetary scientists scratching their heads for decades. Despite these sharp new images from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft, the crater’s origin is a complete mystery.
Orcus Patera, discovered in 1965 by the Mariner 4 spacecraft, is located near Mars’ equator, between the volcanoes Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons. At 236 miles long, it would stretch from New York to Boston on Earth. Its rim rises over a mile above the surrounding plains, and its floor lies 1,300 to 1,900 feet below its surroundings.
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