Dawes (lunar crater)

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Dawes
Dawes crater moon.jpg
Dawes from Apollo 17. NASA  photo.
Coordinates 17°12′N26°24′E / 17.2°N 26.4°E / 17.2; 26.4 Coordinates: 17°12′N26°24′E / 17.2°N 26.4°E / 17.2; 26.4
Diameter 18 km
Depth 2.3 km
Colongitude 334° at sunrise
Eponym William R. Dawes

Dawes is a lunar impact crater located in the wide straight between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis. To its southwest lies the larger crater Plinius, and to its northeast sits the Mons Argaeus mountain rise. It is named after British astronomer William Rutter Dawes. [1]

Contents

Oblique view facing south from Apollo 17 Dawes crater AS17-P-2762.jpg
Oblique view facing south from Apollo 17
Layers of mare basalt affected the paths of granular material that flowed down the crater wall. The top of the image is down-slope. From LRO. M157418698RE Dawes.png
Layers of mare basalt affected the paths of granular material that flowed down the crater wall. The top of the image is down-slope. From LRO.

Description

Dawes is circular with a sharp rim that has a slightly flattened oval perimeter. It has a slight central rise, and a somewhat darker floor that is nearly covered in overlapping swirl-like deposits. Much of the deposits are slumped or fall-back material. The inner walls are steep and free from impact erosion. Northeast of Dawes is a rille known as Rima Dawes.

Detailed examination of this crater has located what appear to be alcoves and channels along the inner rim. It is hypothesized that micrometeorite impacts along the rim trigger dry landslides, which produce a gully-like appearance. A similar phenomenon may be responsible for gully-like features along the inner rim of some Martian craters. [2]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Censorinus (crater)</span> Circular depression on the Moon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taruntius (crater)</span> Feature on the moon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lansberg (crater)</span> Feature on the moon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Encke (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo (crater)</span> Feature on the moon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirakatsi (crater)</span> Feature on the moon

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meitner (lunar crater)</span> Feature on the moon

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References

  1. "Dawes (lunar crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. Stiles, Lori (2006-03-10). "Water May Not Have Formed Mars' Recent Gullies". University of Arizona. Archived from the original on May 10, 2016. Retrieved 2015-08-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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