NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Uncovering a Dark Past

Impact craters serve as probes into a planet's subsurface, excavating and exposing material from depth that would be otherwise unobservable. Thus the study of impact crater deposits can help to elucidate the geological history of the target region. In this image, the crater Sher-Gil has exposed low-reflectance material, particularly in its eastern wall and at two concentrated points on the north and south rim. Younger, bright features called hollows dot the dark parts of the crater.

Date acquired: December 01, 2011

Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington