Wikipedia

Galle (Martian crater)

Not to be confused with Gale (Martian crater). This article is about the crater on Mars. For the lunar crater, see Galle (lunar crater).

Galle is a crater on Mars. It is located on the eastern rim of the huge impact basin Argyre Planitia in Argyre quadrangle. It is named after the German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.[1] Galle is often known as the "happy face crater" because pareidolia causes a curved mountain range in the southern part of the crater and two smaller mountain clusters further north to appear to be a smiley face. The formation was first photographed by Viking Orbiter 1.

Galle
Photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor, 1999-03-10
PlanetMars
Coordinates51°12′S 30°54′W / 51.2°S 30.9°W / -51.2; -30.9
QuadrangleArgyre
Diameter230.0 km
EponymJohann Gottfried Galle

A second "happy face crater", smaller than Galle and located at 45.1°S, 55.0°W in Nereidum Montes, was discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on January 28, 2008.[2]

Appearance in Watchmen

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As the smiley is a key motif in the comic book Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the crater was used as a story location after the coincidence was noted by Gibbons. According to Gibbons, the similarity "was almost too good to be true. I worried that if we put it in, people would never believe it."[3] The crater also appears in the same scene during the film adaptation.

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    Viking Orbiter 1 mosaic
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    Another Viking 1 mosaic
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    East side of Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera (on MRO).
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    Gullies on mounds and dunes in Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera. Note this is an enlargement of previous photo.
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    Layered deposit in Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera. Note: this is an enlargement of a previous image.
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    Old glacial flows and gullies on eastern side of Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera. Note: this is an enlargement of the previous photo.
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    Dunes and dust devil tracks in Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera.
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    Part of Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera. The right "eye" and "mouth" are labeled. One of two dune fields are labeled as well.
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    Wide view of area around Galle crater. Colors show elevations.
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    Region around Galle crater. Colors show elevations.
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    Galle crater. Colors show elevations. Arrow indicates a layered mound that is enlarged in other images to follow.
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    Wide CTX view of part of layered mound. Parts of this mound are enlarged in HiRISE images that follow.
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    HiRISE image from area in previous image. Picture taken under HiWish program.
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    Layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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    Layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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    Layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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    Layers breaking up into boulders in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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    Layers and gullies in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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    Close view of layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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    Layered mesa in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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    Layers and polygons in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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    Close view of layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Galle". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ^ Have a happy day on Mars Archived 2010-04-21 at the Wayback Machine, The Planetary Society Blog, Feb. 1, 2008
  3. ^ Web Behrens (February 27, 2009). "'Watchmen': Your guide to watching the big screen adaptation of the comic book". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 8, 2014.
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