Petavius (crater)

Last updated
Petavius-centered area in selenochromatic format (Si). More infos here : https://www.gawh.it/main/selenocromatica Petavius Si Barbero Zetta Ferruggia.jpg
Petavius-centered area in selenochromatic format (Si). More infos here : https://www.gawh.it/main/selenocromatica
Petavius
Petavius crater LROC.jpg
LRO mosaic
Coordinates 25°18′S60°24′E / 25.3°S 60.4°E / -25.3; 60.4
Diameter 177 km
Depth 3.4 km
Colongitude 300° at sunrise
Eponym Denis Pétau

Petavius is a large lunar impact crater located to the southeast of the Mare Fecunditatis, near the southeastern lunar limb. Attached to the northwest rim is the smaller crater Wrottesley. To the southeast are Palitzsch, Vallis Palitzsch, and Hase. Farther to the north is the large crater Vendelinus. Petavius appears oblong when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening. Petavius is Imbrian in age.

Contents

The outer wall of Petavius is unusually wide in proportion to the diameter, and displays a double rim along the south and west sides. The height of the rim varies by as much as 50% from the lowest point, and a number of ridges radiate outwards from the rim. The convex crater floor has been resurfaced by lava flow, and displays a rille system named the Rimae Petavius. The large central mountains are a prominent formation with multiple peaks, climbing 1.7 kilometers above the floor. A deep fracture runs from the peaks toward the southwest rim of the crater.

Rev. T. W. Webb described Petavius as,

"one of the finest spots in the Moon: its grand double rampart, on east side nearly 11,000 ft (3,400 m). High, its terraces, and convex interior with central hill and cleft, compose a magnificent landscape in the lunar morning or evening, entirely vanishing beneath a Sun risen but halfway to the meridian."

Petavius is one of the largest craters of Lower (Early) Imbrian age. [1]

The most favorable time for viewing this feature through a telescope is when the Moon is only three days old. By the fourth day the crater is nearly devoid of shadow.

70-cm radar images of this crater and its surroundings show that the region of the surface beyond the wide outer rampart of Petavius has a dark halo, characteristic of a smooth surface free of boulders. It is thought that this may have been created by radial outbursts during the original impact that swept the area clean.

Petavius B to the north-northwest of Petavius has a small ray system that lies across the surface of Mare Fecunditatis. Due to these rays, Petavius B is mapped as part of the Copernican System. [2]

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Petavius.

PetaviusLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A26.0° S61.6° E5 km
B19.9° S57.1° E33 km
C27.7° S60.1° E11 km
D24.0° S64.4° E17 km

Views

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arzachel (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Arzachel is a relatively young lunar impact crater located in the highlands in the south-central part of the visible Moon, close to the zero meridian. It lies to the south of the crater Alphonsus, and together with Ptolemaeus further north the three form a prominent line of craters to the east of Mare Nubium. The smaller Alpetragius lies to the northwest, and Thebit is to the southwest along the edge of the mare.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyginus (crater)</span> Volcanic formation on the Moon

Hyginus is a lunar caldera located at the east end of the Sinus Medii. It was named after ancient Roman astronomer Gaius Julius Hyginus. Its rim is split by a 220 kilometer-long rille, Rima Hyginus, that branches to the northwest and to the east-southeast. The crater is deeper than the rille, and lies at intersection of the rille's branches. Together, the crater and the rille form a prominent feature in an otherwise flat surface. Smaller craters along the length of the rille may have been caused by the collapse of an underlying structure.

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

Taruntius is a lunar impact crater on the northwestern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. It was named after ancient Roman philosopher, mathematician and astrologer Lucius Tarutius Firmanus. To the northwest is the lava-flooded crater Lawrence, and to the north lie the craters Watts and da Vinci.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharp (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Sharp is a lunar impact crater located to the west of the Sinus Iridum bay of the Mare Imbrium, beyond the Montes Jura range. To the southwest is the crater Mairan. Because of its location and foreshortening, Sharp appears elliptical from the earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triesnecker (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Triesnecker is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located in the Sinus Medii, near the central part of the Moon's near side. Its diameter is 25 km. It was named after Austrian astronomer Franz de Paula Triesnecker. It is located to the north-northwest of the crater Rhaeticus, and to the east-southeast of the flooded Murchison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snellius (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Snellius is a lunar impact crater located near the southeast limb of the Moon.

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

Cardanus is a lunar impact crater that is located in the western part of the Moon, in the western part of the Oceanus Procellarum. Due to its location the crater appears very oval because of foreshortening, and it is viewed almost from the side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timaeus (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Timaeus is a lunar impact crater in the northern part of the Moon, on the north edge of Mare Frigoris. It forms part of the southwestern wall of the large and irregular walled plain W. Bond. The rim of Timaeus is somewhat pentagonal in shape, with rounded corners. There is a central rise in the midpoint of the crater floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bianchini (lunar crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Bianchini is a lunar impact crater that lies along the northern Jura Mountains that ring the Sinus Iridum, in the northwestern part of the near side of the Moon. It was named after Italian astronomer Francesco Bianchini. The impact of this crater near the edge of the Jura Mountains deposited some material into the Sinus Iridum floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bürg (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Bürg is a prominent lunar impact crater in the northeast part of the Moon. It lies within the lava-flooded, ruined crater formation designated Lacus Mortis. To the south and southeast is the crater pair Plana and Mason. To the west, beyond the rim of Lacus Mortis, is the prominent crater Eudoxus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palitzsch (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Palitzsch is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southeast part of the Moon, near the southeast rim of the crater Petavius. Just to the southwest of Palitzsch is Hase, while to the east-southeast is Legendre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hase (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Hase is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southeast part of the Moon, to the south-southwest of the prominent walled plain Petavius. Palitzsch and Vallis Palitzsch are attached to the northeastern rim of Hase.

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

Krieger is a lunar impact crater on the eastern part of the Oceanus Procellarum. It is located to the north-northwest of the flooded crater Prinz, and north-northeast of the prominent ray crater Aristarchus. To the northwest lies the small Wollaston. The crater was formally named in 1935.

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

Campanus is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southwestern edge of Mare Nubium. It was named after Italian astronomer Campanus of Novara. It forms a crater pair with Mercator just to the southeast. Along the southern rampart of Campanus is the small lunar mare named Palus Epidemiarum. To the southwest is the small crater Dunthorne.

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

Condon is a lunar impact crater that lies on the eastern shore of the Sinus Successus, a bay along the northeast edge of Mare Fecunditatis. It was named after American physicist Edward U. Condon in 1976. It lies midway between the larger crater Apollonius to the north and the smaller Webb to the south on the Mare Fecunditatis. Condon was previously designated Webb R.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrottesley (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Wrottesley is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the west-northwestern rim of the larger crater Petavius, and lies along the southeast edge of Mare Fecunditatis. It lies in the southeast part of the moon and appears somewhat foreshortened when viewed from the earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crüger (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Crüger is a lunar impact crater that is located in the western part of the Moon, to the northeast of the much larger walled plain Darwin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schlüter (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Schlüter is a lunar impact crater that is located near the western limb of the Moon's near side. It lies along the northwestern face of the Montes Cordillera mountain range that encircles the Mare Orientale. Nearly attached to the eastern rim is the damaged crater Hartwig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lomonosov (lunar crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Lomonosov is a lunar impact crater that is located just behind the western limb of the Moon. It is almost attached to the east-northeastern outer rim of the larger crater Joliot, and overlies the southern rim of Maxwell. Attached to the southern rim of Lomonosov is the smaller Edison.

References

  1. The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348. By Don E. Wilhelms, John F. McCauley, and Newell J. Trask. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1987. Table 10.2.
  2. The geologic history of the Moon, 1987, Wilhelms, Don E.; with sections by McCauley, John F.; Trask, Newell J. USGS Professional Paper: 1348. Plate 11: Copernican System (online)