Moon Craters
Spring 2003
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Limb of Copernicus Impact Crater: Copernicus is 93 km wide
and is located within the Mare Imbrium Basin, northern nearside of the
Moon (10°N, 20°W). Image shows crater floor, floor mounds, rim,
and rayed ejecta. Rays from the ejecta are superposed on all other
surrounding terrains which places the crater in its namesake age group:
the Copernican system, established as the youngest assemblage of rocks on
the Moon (Shoemaker and Hackman, 1962, The Moon: London, Academic Press,
p.289-300). |
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South Pole Region: Lunar mosaic of ~1500 Clementine images of
the south polar region of the moon. The projection is orthographic,
centered on the south pole. The Schrodinger Basin (320 km in diameter) is
located in the lower right of the mosaic. Amundsen-Ganswindt is the more
subdued circular basin between Schrodinger and the pole. The polar regions
of the moon are of special interest because of the postulated occurrence
of ice in permanently shadowed areas. The south pole is of greater
interest because the area that remains in shadow is much larger than that
at the north pole. |
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North Pole Region: This view of the north polar region of the
Moon was obtained by Galileo's camera during the spacecraft's flyby of the
Earth-Moon system on December 7 and 8, 1992. The north pole is to the
lower right of the image. The view in the upper left is toward the horizon
across the volcanic lava plains of Mare Imbrium. The prominent crater with
the central peak is Pythagoras, an impact crater some 130 kilometers (80
miles) in diameter. The image was taken at a distance of 121,000
kilometers (75,000 miles) from the Moon through the violet filter of
Galilieo's imaging system. According to team scientists, the viewing
geometry provided by the spacecraft's pass over the north pole and the low
sun-angle illumination provide a unique opportunity to assess the geologic
relationships among the smooth plains, cratered terrain and impact ejecta
deposits in this region of the Moon. |
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