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Gale is a crater on Mars near the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle at .〔USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/nomenclature/Feature/2071.〕 It is in diameter〔 and estimated to be about 3.5-3.8 billion years old.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Mars Odyssey Mission THEMIS: Gale Crater's History Book )〕 The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur astronomer from Sydney, Australia, who observed Mars in the late 19th century. Aeolis Mons is a mountain in the center of Gale and rises high. Aeolis Palus is the plain between the northern wall of Gale and the northern foothills of Aeolis Mons.〔〔 Peace Vallis, a nearby outflow channel, 'flows' down from the Gale crater hills to the Aeolis Palus below and seems to have been carved by flowing water. The NASA Mars rover, ''Curiosity'', of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, landed in "Yellowknife" ''Quad 51'' of Aeolis Palus in Gale at 05:32 UTC August 6, 2012. NASA named the landing location Bradbury Landing on August 22, 2012. ''Curiosity'' is expected to explore Aeolis Mons and surrounding areas. ==Description== Gale crater, named for Walter F. Gale (1865-1945), an amateur astronomer from Australia, spans in diameter and holds a mountain, Aeolis Mons (informally named "Mount Sharp" to pay tribute to geologist Robert P. Sharp) rising from the crater floor, higher than Mount Rainier rises above Seattle. Gale is roughly the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island. The crater formed when a meteor hit Mars in its early history, about 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago. The meteor impact punched a hole in the terrain, and the subsequent explosion ejected rocks and soil that landed around the crater. Layering in the central mound (Aeolis Mons) suggests it is the surviving remnant of an extensive sequence of deposits. Some scientists believe the crater filled in with sediments and, over time, the relentless Martian winds carved Aeolis Mons, which today rises about above the floor of Gale—three times higher than the Grand Canyon is deep. At 10:32 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5, 2012 (1:32 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012), the Mars Science Laboratory rover, ''Curiosity'', landed on Mars at , at the foot of the layered mountain inside Gale crater. ''Curiosity'' landed within a landing ellipse approximately by . The landing ellipse is about below Martian "sea level" (defined as the average elevation around the equator). The expected near-surface atmospheric temperatures at the landing site during ''Curiosity''s primary mission (1 Martian year or 687 Earth days) are from to . Scientists chose Gale as the landing site for ''Curiosity'' because it has many signs that water was present over its history. The crater's geology is notable for containing both clays and sulfate minerals, which form in water under different conditions and may also preserve signs of past life. The history of water at Gale, as recorded in its rocks, is giving ''Curiosity'' lots of clues to study as it pieces together whether Mars ever could have been a habitat for microbes. Gale Crater contains a number of fans and deltas that provide information about lake levels in the past, including: Pancake Delta, Western Delta, Farah Vallis delta and the Peace Vallis Fan. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gale (crater)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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