Aratus

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Aratus

Lat: 23.56°N, Long: 4.5°E, Diam: 10.23 km, Depth: 1.155 km, Rükl: 22

external image normal_Aratus_LO-IV-102H_LTVT.JPG
LO-IV-102H The shadow-casting peak to the north is unnamed. It is about 1900 m tall, very similar to the depth of Aratus.

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Description


Elger

(IAU Directions) ARATUS.--One of the most brilliant objects on the visible surface of the moon, a crater 7 miles in diameter, S. of Mount Hadley, surrounded by the lofty mountain arms and towering heights of the Apennines. A peak close by on the N. is more than 10,000 feet, and another farther removed towards the N.E. is over 14,000 feet in altitude.

Wikipedia

Aratus

Additional Information

  • IAU page: Aratus
  • Depth data from Kurt Fisher database
    • Elachi, 1976: 1.155 km
    • Pike, 1976: 1.88 km
    • Arthur, 1974: 1.87 km
    • Westfall, 2000: 1.88 km
    • Viscardy, 1985: 1.86 km
  • Aratus has a flat bottom with tapering walls. As measured by LTVT the shadows in both the Lunar Orbiter and Apollo images indicate the floor is 1940 m below the east wall. The Elachi depth value, though nominally the most accurate, is clearly incorrect, at least if measured from the east wall. - Jim Mosher
  • An interesting feature related only by name is Aratus CA, 6°(187 km) to the ENE in Mare Serenitatis.
  • Aratus C and a small crater to its SW are thermal anomaly craters, implying youthful ages - Moore et al, 1980
  • Aratus D and Dorsum Gast are mentioned in Apollo Over the Moon, Chapter 7: Unusual Features (part 1), Figure 227.


Nomenclature

Aratus (Greek Aratos) (ca. 315 BC/310 BC – 240 BC) was a Macedonian Greek didactic poet, known for his technical poetry.

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Bibliography




Named Featues -- Prev: Arago -- Next: Promontorium Archerusia