Harakhtes (crater)
Bright dome crater on Ganymede with a central dome.
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Harakhtes is a major crater on Ganymede, the largest moon of Jupiter. It is a bright dome crater located in the northern part of Ganymede's leading hemisphere, with a diameter of 108 kilometres (67 mi). The crater is notable for its bright floor, which starkly contrasts with the surrounding dark terrain of Galileo Regio, and for its central dome, a feature common to many craters on icy moons.
Background
Harakhtes is named after Horakhty, a form of the Ancient Egyptian god Horus meaning 'Horus of the Horizon,' representing the eastern horizon where the Sun rises. The IAU approved the name in 2000, following its rule that craters on Ganymede are named after deities, heroes, or places from ancient Middle Eastern mythologies.
The crater lies at the eastern edge of Galileo Regio, an ancient, rugged terrain, with the younger Xibalba Sulcus immediately to the east. The surrounding region is saturated with impact craters and palimpsests, including Kulla crater to the west and Bigeh Facula palimpsest to the southeast. Harakhtes is situated on the hemisphere of Ganymede that permanently faces away from Jupiter due to the moon's synchronous rotation, meaning an observer at the crater would never see Jupiter above the horizon.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Harakhtes (crater) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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