Doublet craters--slightly separated pairs of craters formed near-simultaneously--in many cases likely represent the result of impacts by binary asteroids. Survey-based estimates for craters over 10-20 km in diameter indicate that doublet craters comprise about 2% of craters on Mars, 10-15% on the Earth, and 2-14% on Venus. Binary asteroids are an obvious suspect as a source for doublet craters, given the signficant fraction of near-Earth objects estimated to be binary. They are not the only suspect, however. Some such craters represent breakup of "rubble-pile" asteroid just prior to impact, either from tidal forces or from impact with the atmosphere (in the cases of Venus and the Earth). The grazing impact of a single object which "skips" on impact is the preferred explanation in a few cases, such as craters Messier A and B on the Moon.

For particular bodies:

• Cook et al. [C03a] suggest a doublet fraction of 2.2% for Venus based on an initial crater review and a 14% when including radar-dark "splotches" believed formed by impacting objects too small to reach the surface intact.
• Three or four examples of doublet craters exist on Earth; these have been found to have similar geologic ages.
• For Mars, Melosh et al. [M96a] identify 3 likely doublets in a sample of 133 craters, giving a fraction of 2.3%. More extensive surveys will be possible based on recent Mars orbiter imagery.
• Wren and Fevig [W18a] suggest doublet fractions of 0.7% on Ceres and 2.1% on Vesta.

The following table lists 212 identified doublet craters (including unconfirmed cases):

• 47 on Venus,
• 6 on the Earth,
• 9 on the Moon,
• 131 on Mars,
• 13 on asteroid (1) Ceres,
• 5 on asteroid (4) Vesta, and
• 1 on Saturn's moon Tethys.

Sources:

• B96a: Bottke, W. F. Jr., and H. J. Melosh, 1996, Binary asteroids and the formation of doublet craters, Icarus, 124:372-391 [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103596902158].
• B96b: Bottke, W. F. Jr., and H. J. Melosh, 1996, Formation of asteroid satellites and doublet craters by planetary tidal forces, Nature, 381:51-53 [http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~bottke/Reprints/Bottke_Nature_1996_381_51_Binary_Doublet_Craters.pdf].
• B15a: Bron, K. A., 2015, Impact sedimentation of the Tookoonkooka and Talundilly marine impact structures, Australia: An impact reservoir generated by cratering in a petroleum basin, Ph.D. thesis, University of Adelaide [https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/115482/2/02whole.pdf].
• C03a: Cook, C. M., H. J. Melosh, and W. F. Bottke Jr., 1996, Doublet craters on Venus, Icarus, 165:90-100 [http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~bottke/Reprints/Bottke_Binary_Icarus_1996.pdf].
• C07a: Chapman, C. R., 2007, Implications for small-body binaries from doublet craters, 1st Workshop on Binaries in the Solar System [http://www.boulder.swri.edu/clark/bincra07.ppt].
• D12a: Dawn imagery (MPS), 2012, Max-Planck-Institut [http://www.dawn.mps.mpg.de/index.php?id=17&L=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=122&cHash=d5cab4991de2c57eb1b44c24f494a4a2].
• D98a: Richardson, D. C., W. F. Bottke Jr., and S. G. Love, 1998, Tidal distortion and disruption of Earth-crossing asteroids, Icarus, 134:47-76. [http://www.astro.umd.edu/~dcr/reprints/richardson_icarus134,47.pdf].
• M07a: Mars Odyssey THEMIS imagery (NASA/JPL/ASU), 2007, PIA09162: THEMIS ART #80, JPL [http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09162].
• M10a: Mars Odyssey THEMIS imagery (NASA/JPL/ASU), 2010, PIA13738: Doublet crater, JPL [http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13738].
• M11a: Mars Odyssey THEMIS imagery (NASA/JPL/ASU), 2011, PIA13850: Doublet crater, JPL [http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13850].
• M12a: Milijkovic, K., G. S. Collins, S. Mannick, and P. A. Bland, 2012, Hydrocode simulations of binary asteroid impacts, LPSC, 43:1338 [http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2012/pdf/1338.pdf].
• M91a: Melosh, H. J., and J. Stansberry, 1991, Doublet craters and the tidal disruption of binary asteroids, Icarus, 94:171-179 [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/001910359190148M].
• M96a: Melosh, H. J., J. Ingram, and W. F. Bottke Jr., 1996, The abundance of doublet craters on Mars, Lunar and Planetary Science, 27:863 [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1996LPI....27..863M].
• O14a: Ormo, J., et al., 2014, Unique example of an impact of a binary asteroid in a marine target environment: The Lockne-Malingen doublet, central Sweden, 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 1024 [a href=https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2014/pdf/1024.pdf].
• P23a: Planetary and Space Science Centre, 2012-2023, Earth Impact Database, PASSC [http://passc.net/EarthImpactDatabase/New%20website_05-2018/Index.html].
• T89a: Trego, K. D., 1989, Multiple impacts in the Earth's cratering history, Earth, Moon and Planets, 46:201-205 [http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1989EM%26P...46..201T/0000201.000.html].
• V22a: Vavilov, D. E., et al., 2022, Evidence for widely-separated binary asteroids recorded by craters on Mars, Icarus, 383:115045 [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0019103522001579].
• W17a: Wren, P. F., and R. A. Fevig, 2017, Investigation of doublet craters on Ceres as evidence of main belt binary asteroid systems, 48th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2407 [https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2017/eposter/2407.pdf].
• W18a: Wren, P. F., and R. A. Fevig, 2018, Comparing doublet craters on Vesta and Ceres to investigate binary asteroid differences between inner and intermediate zones of the main belt, AGU Fall Meeting 2018, P33D-3871 [https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/mediafile/Handout/Paper452923/AGU_2018_Poster_TLDR_small.pdf].
• W18b: Wren, P. F., and R. A. Fevig, 2018, Using doublet craters on Ceres to constrain the main belt binary asteroid population, 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2083 [https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2018/pdf/2328.pdf].
• W18c: Wren, P. F., 2018, Constraining the small binary asteroid population of the main belt using doublet craters on Ceres, Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of North Dakota [https://commons.und.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3385&context=theses].
• W19a: Wren, P. F., and R. A. Fevig, 2019, Comparing binary systems of the inner and intermediate zones of the asteroid belt, 10th Meeting of the Planetary Crater Consortium [http://www.planetarycraterconsortium.nau.edu/WrenFevigPCC10.pdf].
• W20a: Wren, P. F., and R. A. Fevig, 2020, Examining doublet craters on the lunar maria to constrain binary asteroids in the near-Earth population, 11th Planetary Crater Consortium [https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/crater2020/pdf/2061.pdf].
• W21a: Wren, P. F., and R. A. Fevig, 2021, Lunar doublet craters: Constraining binary asteroids in the near-Earth population, 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 1671 [https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2021/pdf/1671.pdf].
• W23a: Wren, P. F., and R. A. Fevig, 2023, Improved constraints on main belt binary asteroid systems based on Ceres doublet impacts, 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 2806 [https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2023/pdf/2133.pdf].

© 2002-2012, 2023 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 28 October 2023.
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