Viracocha Patera

A screenshot of an area including Viracocha Patera, from NASA World Wind.

Viracocha Patera is a patera, or a complex crater with scalloped edges, on Jupiter's moon Io. It is about 59 kilometers in diameter and is located at 61°46′S 280°05′W / 61.77°S 280.09°W / -61.77; -280.09 (Viracocha Patera). It is named after the Quechua creator god Viracocha. The name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1979.[1][2] Viracocha Patera is a Voyager spacecraft-detected hot spot.[3] To Viracocha Patera's east-northeast is Mithra Patera, and to the northeast is the mountain Silpium Mons.[4]

References

  1. "IO NOMENCLATURE". lnfm1.sai.msu.su. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
  2. "USGS Astro: Planetary Nomenclature: Feature Data Search Results". USGS Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature Feature Information. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
  3. "Hot Spots on Io: Initial Results from Galileo's Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer" (PDF). trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
  4. NASA World Wind 1.4. NASA Ames Research Center, 2007.
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