Icarus

Lat: 5.58°S, Long: 173°W, Diam: 93.73 km, Depth: km, Rükl: (farside)

Left: LROC WAC image No. M118634453ME. Calibrated by LROC_WAC_Previewer.
Right: LO-II-033-M

AS17-162-24106 is one of the orbital photographs which was made with a NIKON camera (35 mm), this during the last Apollo mission in December 1972. It shows Icarus near the curved horizon, looking north (note Icarus's pronounced "[/Alpetragius Alpetragius]-like" peak!). The crater in front of Icarus is [/Amici Amici]. Compare this NIKON-photograph with the LAC 86 map in the [/Clementine%20Atlas Clementine Atlas]. Research: Danny Caes.
AS11-44-6606 is one of the most remarkable orbital Hasselblads made during the mission of Apollo 11, because it shows the illuminated central peak of Icarus, while most of Icarus's floor is in pitch black shadow (evening terminator). Research: Danny Caes.

Maps

([/LAC%20zone LAC zone] 86B3) USGS Digital Atlas PDF

IAU page: Icarus
From the shadows in LO-II-033M, Icarus appears to be about 4.6-4.7 km deep. The shadow from the ~27 km diameter central peak gives a height difference from peak to shadow tip of 4.1 km. Since the shadow tip appears to fall slightly up the crater wall, the height of the peak above the floor may be slightly higher. The oblique images taken from Apollo suggest the possibility the central peak may be taller than the rim. Note: although the pointy shadow from the central peak appears to the eye to be longer than the broader shadow from the west rim, measurement shows the two to be essentially the same length -- however, the sun angle over the peak is lower, so a shadow of equal length represents a smaller height difference -- that is, the equal shadows suggest the peak is less tall than the west rim.- JimMosher JimMosher

Named for Icarus, a character in Greek Mythology. Icarus was famous for his death by falling into the Icarian Sea when he flew too close to the sun, melting the wax holding his artificial wings together.
Icarus was among the long list of farside names approved by the IAU in 1970 and published in [/Menzel%2C%201971#ICARUS Menzel, 1971]. It is one of the very few craters named after a mythological figure (a practice that is no longer allowed), although the biographical information regards him as a legendary figure who can (possibly) be placed in the second millennium BC.
In the planning for Apollo 8, the first manned circumlunar mission (1968), this crater (which did not then have an official name) was referred to informally as "Low" (source: Phil Stooke's LPOD).
Icarus was also the unofficial name of a small craterlet near the landing site of Apollo 15's LM Falcon. This small craterlet is located at the North Complex, see: [/Apollo%2015%20site Apollo 15 site].

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This page has been edited 1 times. The last modification was made by - tychocrater tychocrater on Jun 13, 2009 3:24 pm - afx3u3