Palimpsest (planetary astronomy): Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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[[File:Memphis Facula.gif|right|thumb|''[[Voyager 2]]'' image of [[Memphis Facula]] (white patch at lower right) on [[Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]]]]

A '''palimpsest''', in [[Planetary science|planetary astronomy]], is the remains of an ancient [[Impact crater|crater]]on the lunar surface.

A '''palimpsest''', in [[Planetary science|planetary astronomy]], is an ancient [[Impact crater|crater]] on an [[icy moon]] of the [[Solar System#Outer Solar System|outer Solar System]] whose [[relief]] has disappeared due to creep of the icy surface ("viscous relaxation") or subsequent [[cryovolcanic]] outpourings, leaving a circular albedo feature, perhaps with a "ghost" of a rim. [[Ice|Icy]] surfaces of natural satellites like [[Callisto (moon)|Callisto]] and [[Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]] preserve hints of their history in these rings. A typical example is [[Memphis Facula]] on Ganymede, a 340 km wide palimpsest.

Later impacts on the moon left ghostly remains of the previous impacts.

(The word originates from reused middle-ages manuscripts where you can faintly see the previous writing.)

==See also==