Herschel (Martian crater)

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For other craters in the solar system named 'Herschel', see Herschel (crater).

Herschel is a large crater on Mars. It is named after the eighteenth century astronomer William Herschel.

Herschel is 300 kilometers wide, so large that it is properly considered an impact basin. It is located in the cratered highlands of the Martian southern hemisphere, at 14.5°S, 230°W. Its floor was discovered by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft to contain fields of dark sand dunes.