Dantu (crater)

Dantu /ˈdæntuː/ 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 Gã 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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