Sesquinary catenae on the Martian satellite Phobos from reaccretion of escaping ejecta.

ABSTRACT: The Martian satellite Phobos is criss-crossed by linear grooves and crater chains whose origin is unexplained. Anomalous grooves are relatively young, and crosscut tidally predicted stress fields as Phobos spirals towards Mars. Here we report strong correspondence between these anomalous features and reaccretion patterns of sesquinary ejecta from impacts on Phobos. Escaping ejecta persistently imprint Phobos with linear, low-velocity crater chains (catenae) that match the geometry and morphology of prominent features that do not fit the tidal model. We prove that these cannot be older than Phobos' current orbit inside Mars' Roche limit. Distinctive reimpact patterns allow sesquinary craters to be traced back to their source, for the first time across any planetary body, creating a novel wa

SUBMITTER: Nayak M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5013556 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature