Oxo (crater)

Oxo /ˈɒʃoʊ/ is a small impact crater on the dwarf planet Ceres, located in Ceres' northern hemisphere. It is the second-brightest feature on Ceres. The crater was named after the Candomblé (and Yoruba) god of agriculture.[2]

Oxo
Oxo imaged by Dawn from LAMO
LocationCeres
Coordinates42.21°N 359.6°E / 42.21; 359.6[1]
Diameter10 kilometres (6.2 mi)
Depth4,802 metres (15,755 ft)
NamingAfter the Candomblé god of agriculture

Formation

Oxo is a very young crater, having been formed only 190+100
−70 Ka (thousand years) ago,[3] and it is entirely located within the older, heavily degraded crater Duginavi.[4] Despite its relatively small size, the impact that created Oxo penetrated more deeply into Ceres than many larger craters, reaching a depth of 4,802 metres, and it excavated significant amounts of bright material that was distributed unevenly throughout the crater's ejecta blanket.[5]

Physical features

As a result of Oxo's young age it has a very sharp crater rim and a well-defined ejecta blanket. It is also home to many large boulders; boulders produced by older craters have largely been destroyed by micrometeoroid impacts.[6]

Oxo is actively undergoing the sublimation of water ice, due to its young age.[3] This ice is located along the crater's southern wall.[7]

See also

References

Citations
  1. "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Oxo on Ceres". planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2021-09-15.
  2. "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Oxo on Ceres". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. 21 September 2015.
  3. Nathues et al. 2017, p. 1
  4. Nathues et al. 2017, p. 9
  5. Nathues et al. 2017, pp. 3–4
  6. Nathues et al. 2017, p. 3
  7. Formisano et al. 2018, p. 2

Bibliography

Media related to Oxo (crater) at Wikimedia Commons


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