Dantu (crater)

Dantu /ˈdænt/ is a large crater on Ceres, located within the Vendimia Planitia. It is rimmed by a number of minor faculae, which together form Bright Spot 2.

Dantu
Dantu crater.
LocationCeres
Coordinates24.21°N 137.43°E / 24.21; 137.43[1]
Diameter124.62 kilometres (77.44 mi)
NamingDantu, the god of planting

Etymology

The crater is named after Dantu, the timekeeper and first god of planting (millet) of the Gã people of Accra, Ghana.[2]

Formation

Dantu is thought to have formed 230+30
−30
Ma (million years) ago, based on the amount of crater impacts present within its ejecta blankets.[3]

Physical features

The walls of Dantu are quite heavily eroded, with most of the north-eastern wall having collapsed completely.[3] Due to Dantu's relatively young age its crater floor is smooth, with few additional craters present within it.[3] Dantu's floor is also home to a system of fractures, which are mostly located in the south of the crater.[3]

The center of Dantu is home to a peak, with a ring complex around said peak.[4] The majority of Dantu's pit craters surround this feature, with said pit craters largely being between 400 and 900 metres in diameter.[4]

References

  1. Staff (6 July 2015). "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Dantu on Ceres". USGS. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  2. Marion Kilson (2013) Dancing with the Gods: Essays in Ga Ritual
  3. Kallisch, J.; et al. (2017). "Geological Evolution and Composition of the Dantu Crater" (PDF). EPSC Abstracts. European Planetary Science Congress. 11: 1. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  4. Sizemore, Hanna G.; et al. (16 July 2017). "Pitted terrains on (1) Ceres and implications for shallow subsurface volatile distribution". Geophysical Research Letters. American Geophysical Union. 44 (13): 6570–6578. doi:10.1002/2017GL073970. PMC 5606497. PMID 28989206.

Further reading

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