Galle

Photographed by the Mars Global Surveyor, 1999-03-10
Planet	Mars
Coordinates	51°12′S 30°54′W / 51.2°S 30.9°W / -51.2; -30.9
Quadrangle	Argyre
Diameter	230.0 km
Eponym	Johann Gottfried Galle

Galle is a crater on Mars. It is located on the eastern rim of the huge impact basin Argyre Planitia in Argyre quadrangle. It is named after the German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.^[1] Galle is often known as the "happy face crater" because pareidolia causes a curved mountain range in the southern part of the crater and two smaller mountain clusters further north to appear to be a smiley face. The formation was first photographed by Viking Orbiter 1.

A second "happy face crater", smaller than Galle and located at 45.1°S, 55.0°W in Nereidum Montes, was discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on January 28, 2008.^[2]

Appearance in Watchmen

As the smiley is a key motif in the comic book Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the crater was used as a story location after the coincidence was noted by Gibbons. According to Gibbons, the similarity "was almost too good to be true. I worried that if we put it in, people would never believe it."^[3] The crater also appears in the same scene during the film adaptation.

Gallery

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  Viking Orbiter 1 mosaic
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  Another Viking 1 mosaic
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  East side of Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera (on MRO).
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  Gullies on mounds and dunes in Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera. Note this is an enlargement of previous photo.
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  Layered deposit in Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera. Note: this is an enlargement of a previous image.
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  Old glacial flows and gullies on eastern side of Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera. Note: this is an enlargement of the previous photo.
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  Dunes and dust devil tracks in Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera.
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  Part of Galle crater, as seen by CTX camera. The right "eye" and "mouth" are labeled. One of two dune fields are labeled as well.
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  Wide view of area around Galle crater. Colors show elevations.
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  Region around Galle crater. Colors show elevations.
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  Galle crater. Colors show elevations. Arrow indicates a layered mound that is enlarged in other images to follow.
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  Wide CTX view of part of layered mound. Parts of this mound are enlarged in HiRISE images that follow.
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  HiRISE image from area in previous image. Picture taken under HiWish program.
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  Layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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  Layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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  Layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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  Layers breaking up into boulders in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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  Layers and gullies in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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  Close view of layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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  Layered mesa in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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  Layers and polygons in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
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  Close view of layers in mound in Galle crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program