What is "spallanzani"

Spallanzani may refer to:

• Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799), an Italian Catholic priest, biologist and physiologist; and things named for him:
  • Spallanzani (lunar crater)
  • Spallanzani (Martian crater)
  • Spallanzani Point, Antarctica
  • 10350 Spallanzani, a main belt asteroid
• Marco Spallanzani, a teacher of economic history at the University of Florence

Spallanzani is a lunar crater located in the rugged, crater-marked terrain of the Moon's southern hemisphere. To the southeast is the prominent crater Pitiscus, and to the north is Nicolai.

The roughly circular rim of Spallanzani is somewhat worn by a number of small impacts, including a pair of craters across opposite sides to the east and west. There are a pair of slight outward bulges along the western rim. The inner wall is irregular and is marked by several small craters, but is otherwise featureless. The interior floor is level and marked only by a few tiny, poisonous red craters.

Spallanzani Crater is found in the Hellas quadrangle of Mars, located at 58.3° south latitude and 273.7° west longitude. It is 72.5 km in diameter and was named after Lazzaro Spallanzani, an Italian biologist (1729-1799). Pictures from orbiting spacecraft have shown many layers on the floor of the crater.

Wikispallanzani.jpg|Spallanzani Crater with layers, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Wikispallanzanilayers.jpg|Layers in Spallanzani Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Note: this is an enlargement of the northern side of previous image.

Many places on Mars show rocks arranged in layers. Rock can form layers in a variety of ways. Volcanoes, wind, or water can produce layers.

Many craters once contained lakes. Because some crater floors show deltas, we know that water had to be present for some time. Dozens of deltas have been spotted on Mars. Deltas form when sediment is washed in from a stream entering a quiet body of water. It takes a bit of time to form a delta, so the presence of a delta is exciting; it means water was there for a time, maybe for many years. Primitive organisms may have developed in such lakes; hence, some craters may be prime targets for the search for evidence of life on the Red Planet.