New Impact Cluster

New Impact Cluster, a photo by Lunar and Planetary Institute on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
In August 2010, the Context camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered a patch of dark spots in an image in western Amazonia Planitia that were not present in a Mars Odyssey THEMIS image of the same area in April 2008.

Often, the appearance of such new spots is due to the formation of a new impact crater or cluster of craters. HiRISE was called in to have a closer look to confirm the discovery.

This image reveals at least four distinct craters, each surrounded by a rayed ejecta zone where excavated material has been emplaced and/or the bright surface dust cover blown away. Due to the heat and pressure of entering Mars' atmosphere, a single impactor (e.g., a small asteroid or comet) may burst into many individual pieces, likely causing the multiple-impact pattern we see here.