LPOD May 26, 2008
THE NORTHERN MOAT
image by Jérôme Grenier
7:54 PM, MAy 25 - Phoenix has just landed on Mars! Nothing to do with this LPOD but an exciting success, so far, for the next phase of Mars Exploration. Now back to our normally scheduled program... The dark material at far right is the northwestern edge of Mare Crisium and all the area shown is within the moat between the Crisium Ring and the Geminus Ring, with the fragmentary intermediate Cleomedes Ring passing from Cleomedes to Macrobius at bottom left. This moat area must have had low spots which were filled with flooding from the mare, but other pieces of mare material - such as on the floor of Cleomedes and Tisserand (just to right of Macrobius) - must have risen up fractures. Macrobius has a low complex of 4-6 small central peaks and its floor has a roughness similar to other young craters formed on basin ejecta such as the similar size Eudoxus. Delmotte - to the right of Cleomedes - is not well shown in most previous data, but Jérôme's image reveals that slumps from the northern wall fill much of the crater's floor. Now back to Mars - waiting for the first image!
Chuck Wood
Technical Details
11 may 2008. Orion Optics (UK) OMC 12" + barlow 2x + Dmk31AF03 + Red filter.
Related Links
Rükl plate 26
See The Modern Moon p 92 for a map of Crisium's ring.
Jérôme's website
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