Professor of Mathematics

Paata Ivanisvili

Department of Mathematics, University of California, Irvine

Candidate 3: South-east of Gordii Dorsum, south of Olympus Mons

Promising · roughly 55%

Four CTX images of the same 2 by 2 km patch south-east of Gordii Dorsum from 2011, 2020, 2024 and 2026. A dark spot is absent in 2011, darkest in 2020 and fainter afterwards. — The same 2 × 2 km patch in 2011, 2020, 2024 and 2026 (north up, same scale and contrast). The spot is absent in 2011, darkest in 2020 and fading afterwards. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

What changed. A dark spot about 40 m across appears some time between 2011 and 2020. It then fades steadily, which is how impact blast zones behave as dust settles back over them.

Why it may be a new impact. It is seen at the same place in four separate images (2020, twice in 2024, 2026), so it is not a camera glitch, and it is seen under a higher sun than the 2011 image where it is absent, so it is not a shadow.

Location: 0.906° N, 227.461° E
Absent: 20 March 2011
Present: 21 June 2020, then fainter in 2024 and in March 2026
Size: Dark spot about 40 m across
Confidence: Promising, roughly 55% that it is an impact.
Caveat: The main ordinary alternative is wind stripping dust from a small patch of this wind-carved terrain. The nearest HiRISE footprint is 38 km away and the nearest catalogued new crater is 54 km away. Like every candidate here, it is unconfirmed: see the caveat.

Four-times close-ups of the centre of the four Gordii Dorsum images, with a red circle marking the spot. — A 4× close-up of the centre of the same four images. The red circle marks the spot. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

A 12 by 12 km CTX view from March 2026 around the Gordii Dorsum spot, with a dashed box around the 2 by 2 km patch. — A 12 × 12 km view from the March 2026 image. The dashed box is the 2 × 2 km patch. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.