Rays

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This page is an experiment to try to create a list of names for major high albedo ejecta rays around pronounced impact craters such as Tycho or Copernicus.
It is still a mystery why the International Astronomical Union (I.A.U.) didn't came up with such a list, because that's what every dedicated observer of the moon want to see! (names for eye-catching ejecta rays).
WARNING:
High-albedo ejecta rays should not be confused with clair-obscur phenomena such as the well known Hesiodus Ray.

Thanks to the 21st Century Atlas of the Moon (C.A.Wood/ M.J.S.Collins) two of those high-albedo ejecta rays, on the moon's near side, received (unofficial) names:
  • The Bessel Ray (the well-known ray which runs across Mare Serenitatis, straight through crater Bessel).
  • The Seleucus Ray (the ray immediately south of crater Seleucus in Oceanus Procellarum).


Was Hevelius the very first one who wanted to introduce a series of names for the most pronounced rays? (in his days erroneously seen as chains of mountains), see: The Mountains of Hevelius.

Names derived from the list of Hevelius (for the rays of Tycho):

  • The Hermo Ray (the ray north-northeast of Tycho, see page 204 in E.A.Whitaker's Mapping and Naming the Moon).
  • The Sepher Ray (the ray northwest of Tycho, see page 207).
  • The Taurus Ray (the ray east of Tycho, see page 208).
  • No names for the pronounced rays south-southwest and south of Tycho?

Note:
This could be very old news, but I think I see a ray-less gap to the west of Tycho. It's the same sort of gap which is also noticeable at other ray craters such as Proclus, Jackson, Ohm, etc... (in other words: about one-third or one-fourth of their surrounding ray system is interrupted, say; a vacant quarter).- DannyCaes Sep 5, 2015

Names derived from the list of Hevelius (for the rays of Copernicus):

  • The Chalcidici Ray (the ray east of Copernicus, see page 203 in E.A.Whitaker's Mapping and Naming the Moon).
  • The Cratas Ray (the ray north of Copernicus, see page 203).
  • The Eryx Ray (the ray north-northeast of Copernicus, see page 204).
  • The Hereus Ray (the ray north-northwest of Copernicus, see page 204).
  • The Hiblaei Ray (the ray west-southwest of Copernicus, see page 204).
  • The Myconius Ray (the ray northeast of Copernicus, see page 206).


More names... (for the rays of Copernicus):

  • The Nineteen-West ray (a nickname by Danny Caes for the westernmost one of the two pronounced northern rays of Copernicus) (running at approximately 19 degrees West across the southern part of Mare Imbrium).
  • The Sixteen-West ray (a nickname by Danny Caes for the easternmost one of the two pronounced northern rays of Copernicus) (running at approximately 16 degrees West across the southern part of Mare Imbrium).
  • The Wallace ray (a nickname by Danny Caes for the northeastern Copernicus ray which runs over Wallace in the southeastern part of Mare Imbrium) (the Myconius Ray of Hevelius?).


(for the rays of Tycho):

  • The Double Weiss ray (a nickname from Danny Caes for the double ray (or rays) northwest of Tycho toward Weiss).


Much more names, derived from the list of Hevelius:

  • The Ambenus Ray (the bright ray near Mason in Mare Frigoris, see page 202 in E.A.Whitaker's Mapping and Naming the Moon).
  • The Inferiores Ray (the ray north-northeast of Bessel, see page 205 in Whitaker's, this ray is called the Bessel Ray in the 21st Century Atlas of the Moon).

Danny Caes
Ghent - Belgium