Faustini
Contents
Faustini - and Malinkin in it
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Lat: 87.18°S, Long: 85.02°E, Diam: 42.48 km, Depth: km, Rükl: 73 | |
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Right: Portion of a larger image available here from the DIVINER Lunar Radiometer Experiment webpage.
Images
- LPOD Photo Gallery * Lunar Orbiter Images
- Earth-based radar view by Campbell et al.: In the LPOD image from which this has been cropped, the Earth-based radar data was re-mapped to a north-up aerial view. Faustini is the crater labeled Fa. The one labeled Sh is Shoemaker. Shackleton, the IAU-named feature closest to the Moon's South Pole, is in the lower left, with only its lower rim illuminated by the radar waves.
Maps
(LAC zone 144D1) USGS Digital Atlas PDF
Description
Wikipedia
Additional Information
- IAU page: Faustini
- The floor of Faustini appears to be a prime target for the 2009 impact of the LCROSS spacecraft, and is the subject of several ground-based training exercises for imaging the area.
- In Earth-based observations, Faustini is most easily located by reference to the distinctive keyhole-shaped crater Malapert E. When visible on the lunar disk, Faustini can be found between Malapert E and the limb, sometimes a little to the left or right of it depending on the librations. See Ewen Whitaker's sketch-map of the lunar south pole (where Faustini was labeled R3 for "Ring 3").
- The longitudes of features near the Moon's poles are poorly determined because (as on Earth) a small movement in kilometers at the pole can translate into as much as a 360° change in longitude.
- Possibly better selenographic parameters for Faustini than the official IAU ones given in the title line are: 87.22°S, 84.87°E, 41.5 km diameter. The rim of Faustini partially straddles the mean limb seen from Earth, but is mostly on the Earthward side.
- Faustini as a South Polar candidate - see Selenology Today No.13 (2009) p. 21-26, and in Bibliography link below.
- First results from LRO report that Faustini has the lowest measured temperature on the Moon or anywhere else in solar system: -238°C (-397°F).
Nomenclature
- Named for Arnaldo Faustini (1874-1944), an Italian polar geographer.
- This name was proposed to the IAU by amateurs as part of their Luna Incognita project to fill in areas left blank on the Lunar Orbiter maps. It was approved in 1994 (IAU Transactions XXIIB). As noted by Whitaker (p. 236), Faustini does not appear to replace any previous IAU-approved designation for this feature.
- Malinkin is the small crater on the floor of Faustini.
LPOD Articles
20 m Resolution! (source of above radar image)
Bibliography
- Lena, R. et al. 2009. Selenology Today No.13 p. 119-129. (PDF) Mapping Faustini Crater
- MacRobert, Alan M. 1993. Sky and Telescope p. 66-67. Exploring the Moon's South Pole, .
Named Features -- Prev: Faraday -- Next: Fauth
