Newton Crater Neighbors Illusory Bear Face Crater in Southern Mars

Summary: Newton Crater neighbors an illusory bear face crater in the Martian southern hemisphere's heavily cratered and gullied Terra Sirenum region.

Newton Crater's neighborhood (center-center right), with unnamed bear face crater (green in green patch southeast of Newton [lower-center right]), in Terra Sirenum ("Land of the Sirens") in the north central and northwestern Phaethontis quadrangle: Phaethontis, MC24 (Mars Chart-24), via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Newton Crater neighbors an illusory bear face crater in the heavily cratered and gullied Terra Sirenum region of southern Mars.

Terra Sirenum ("Land of the Sirens") occupies two of the 30 quadrangles that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established for mapping the Martian surface. The Phaethontis quadrangle, also designated as MC-24 (Mars Chart 24), claims most of Terra Sirenum. The region's northern extents reach deeply into the Memnonia quadrangle (MC-16; Mars Chart-16).

Newton Crater resides in the north central Phaethontis quadrangle. The impact crater is centered at minus 40.50 decimal degrees south latitude, 201.97 decimal degrees east longitude, according to the IAU's Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The southern hemisphere crater's northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to minus 37.97 decimal degrees south and minus 43.03 decimal degrees south, respectively. The western hemisphere crater's easternmost and westernmost longitudes stretch to 205.30 degrees east and 198.64 degrees east, respectively. Newton Crater's diameter spans 299.94 kilometers.

Newton's neighbors include an unnamed crater that photographs as a bear face. Newton locates northwest of an illusory bear face crater imaged Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, at 14:29 local Mars time by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft's HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera. The interplay of light and shadow with the shapes and textures of the crater's formations transforms the crater's image into a pareidolic bear face. An experiencer of visual pareidolia (Ancient Greek: παρα, para, “concurrent, alongside” + εἴδωλον, eídōlon, “image”) interprets unrelated objects or shapes as familiar faces or objects. For instance, the transformation of six lunar maria (Latin: mare, "sea"; maria, "seas") into the Man in the Moon by Earth's northern hemisphere moongazers epitomizes visual pareidolic processing.

image of pareidolic bear face crater in Martian southern hemisphere, captured Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, at 14:29 local Mars time by NASA's HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft; ID ESP_076769_1380: courtesy NASA/JPL/University of Arizona, Public Domain, via UA (University of Arizona) HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment)

Ptolemaeus Crater homes as Newton Crater's nearest named craterous southern neighbor. Ptolemaeus fames as the landing site of the Soviet Mars program's Mars 3 robotic space probe. On Thursday, Dec. 2, 1971, the spacecraft's lander achieved the first soft landing on the moon. The lander's predicted landing at 45 degrees south latitude, 202 degrees east longitude placed its final site northwest of then-unnamed craterlet Reutov on Ptolemaeus Crater's northern floor.

Ptolemaeus Crater is centered at minus 45.88 decimal degrees south latitude, 202.40 decimal degrees east longitude. The southern hemisphere crater finds its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 44.48 decimal degrees south and minus 47.27 decimal degrees south, respectively. The western hemisphere crater obtains its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 204.40 decimal degrees east and 200.40 decimal degrees east, respectively. Ptolemaeus Crater's diameter measures 165.18 kilometers.

Kamnik Crater locates as Newton Crater's nearest named craterous northern neighbor. The small crater lies to the north-northwest of Newton.

Kamnik Crater is centered at minus 37.21 decimal degrees south latitude, 198.21 decimal degrees east longitude. The southern hemisphere crater establishes its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 37.12 decimal degrees south and minus 37.29 decimal degrees south, respectively. The western hemisphere crater sets its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 198.32 decimal degrees east and 198.10 decimal degrees east, respectively. Kamnik Crater has a diameter of 10.37 kilometers.

Niquero Crater qualifies as Newton Crater's nearest named craterous northwestern neighbor. The small crater lies northwest of Newton and southwest of Kamnik.

Niquero Crater is centered at minus 38.79 decimal degrees south latitude, 194.03 decimal degrees east longitude. The southern hemisphere crater registers its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 38.70 decimal degrees south and minus 38.88 decimal degrees south, respectively. The western hemisphere crater records easternmost and westernmost longitudes of 194.15 decimal degrees east and 193.91 decimal degrees east, respectively. Niquero Crater has a diameter of 10.70 kilometers.

Newton Crater honors British Enlightenment polymath Sir Isaac Newton (Jan. 4, 1643 [O.S. Dec. 25, 1642]-March 31, 1727 [O.S. March 20, 1726]). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved the crater's name in 1973, during the organization's XVth (15th) General Assembly, held in Sydney, Australia, from Tuesday, Aug. 21, to Thursday, Aug. 30.

Ptolemaeus Crater eponymizes second century Alexandrian Greek polymath Claudius Ptolemy (Ancient Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαῖος Claúdios Ptolemaîos; Latin: Claudius Ptolemaeus; ca. 100-ca. 170 CE). Official adoption of the crater's name also occurred during the IAU's XVth (15th) General Assembly in 1973.

Kamnik Crater's name associates with an alpine town in northern Slovenia. On Wednesday, November 25, 2009, the IAU officially approved the crater's name.

Niquero Crater namesakes the small coastal town and municipality in southwest Cuba where 82 members, including Argentine physician and revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara (June 14, 1928-Oct. 9, 1967), of the 26th of July Movement (Spanish: Movimiento 26 de Julio; M-26-7) landed Granma, their 19.2-meter (62.99-foot) yacht, on Sunday, Dec. 2, 1956. On Wednesday, April 16, 2008, the IAU approved the crater's name.

Newton Crater (solitary dark roundness; upper left-center) in Phaethontis quadrangle; image obtained by Visual Imaging Subsystem (VIS) Camera A on Viking Orbiter 1; Viking 1 mission parameters of Mars landing Tuesday, July 20, 1976, and last contact Thursday, Nov. 11, 1982; NASA JPL Photojournal PIA00184, image addition date 1998-06-05: image credit NASA/JPL/USGS, May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Newton Crater's neighborhood (center-center right), with unnamed bear face crater (green in green patch southeast of Newton [lower-center right]), in Terra Sirenum ("Land of the Sirens") in the north central and northwestern Phaethontis quadrangle: Phaethontis, MC24 (Mars Chart-24), via USGS Astrogeology Science Center / Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://asc-planetarynames-data.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mc24_2014.pdf

image of pareidolic bear face crater in Martian southern hemisphere, captured Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, 14:29 local Mars time by NASA's HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft; ID ESP_076769_1380: courtesy NASA/JPL/University of Arizona, Public Domain, via UA (University of Arizona) HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) @ https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_076769_1380

Newton Crater (solitary dark roundness; upper left-center) in Phaethontis quadrangle; image obtained by Visual Imaging Subsystem (VIS) Camera A on Viking Orbiter 1; Viking 1 mission parameters of Mars landing Tuesday, July 20, 1976, and last contact Thursday, Nov. 11, 1982; NASA JPL Photojournal PIA00184, image addition date 1998-06-05: image credit NASA/JPL/USGS, May be used for any purpose without prior permission, via NASA JPL Photojournal @ https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/pia00184

For further information:

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