Ammonius (crater)

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Ammonius
Ammonius crater AS16-P-5381.jpg
Slightly oblique view from Apollo 16, facing east
Coordinates 8°30′S0°48′W / 8.5°S 0.8°W / -8.5; -0.8 Coordinates: 8°30′S0°48′W / 8.5°S 0.8°W / -8.5; -0.8
Diameter 9 km
Depth 1.9 km
Colongitude 1° at sunrise
Eponym Ammonius Hermiae
Oblique view from Apollo 14, facing west Ammonius crater AS14-75-10257.jpg
Oblique view from Apollo 14, facing west

Ammonius is a bowl-shaped lunar impact crater with a slightly raised rim. It is located on the floor of the walled plain Ptolemaeus, about 30 kilometers northeast of the crater midpoint.

Contents

Just to the north on the lava-flooded floor of Ptolemaeus is a relatively prominent "ghost" crater: the discernible buried rim of a pre-existing crater. The diameter of this ghost crater is nearly double that of Ammonius, and is currently identified as Ptolemaeus B.

Names

The crater is named after Greek philosopher Ammonius Hermiae. [1] In the past this crater was identified as Ptolemaeus A, before being named by the IAU in 1976.

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References

  1. "Ammonius (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.