Cerberus Fossae

Scaled Image

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

About this image

Image of the Day explores the nomenclature of Mars. Cerberus Fossae = Fossae: long, narrow, shallow depressions. Cerberus: The three-headed watchdog that guarded the entrance to Hades. Cerberus was the child of a giant and a half-woman/half-snake. Cerberus Fossae is comprised of two east/west oriented linear depressions. One of these depressions is shown in this VIS image. The region surrounding the depression is mainly volcanic in nature. Nomenclature Fact of the Day: Since the planet Venus is named for the Roman goddess of love, its features are named with female names. Large craters are named for famous women, small craters are named with female first names, and other features are named for mythological goddesses of many cultures.

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. 

Context

Image ID: 
V05125011 (View data in Mars Image Explorer)
10.1361
157.318
5125
2003-02-09 05:01
Mon, 2004-08-30
VIS
512 pixels (18 km)
1440 pixels (51 km)
0.035769 km/pixel
0.036227 km/pixel

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