Damodar (crater)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Damodar is a crater on the asteroid 253 Mathilde that was discovered via the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft in c. June 1997.[2] The crater was named after the Damodar Valley, the largest coal basin in India.[3] The name "Damodar" was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in the year 2000.[4]
An edited image of Damodar showing its width as captured by the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft in 1997 | |
| Feature type | Crater |
|---|---|
| Location | 253 Mathilde |
| Coordinates | 73°N 96.2°E[1] |
| Diameter | 28.7 km (17.8 mi) |
| Discoverer | via NEAR Shoemaker in c. June 1997 |
| Naming | 2000 |
| Eponym | Damodar Valley |
Geology and characteristics
Damodar has the coordinates of 73°N 96.2°E, which makes it border and even overlap the nearby crater of Karoo.[4][5] It has an estimated diameter of 28.7 kilometers (17.8 miles).[4]
The raised crater rims of Damodar suggest that some of the material ejected from its formation traveled only short distances before falling back to the surface; straight sections of some of its rims indicate the influence of large faults or fractures on formation.[6]