Polybius (crater)

Last updated
Polybius
Polybius crater 4084 h1.jpg
Coordinates 22°24′S25°36′E / 22.4°S 25.6°E / -22.4; 25.6 Coordinates: 22°24′S25°36′E / 22.4°S 25.6°E / -22.4; 25.6
Diameter 41 km
Depth 2.1 km
Colongitude 335° at sunrise
Eponym Polybius
Selenochromatic Image (Si) of the crater area Theophilus-Nectaris zone Si.jpg
Selenochromatic Image (Si) of the crater area
Location of Polybius Crater Polybius.jpg
Location of Polybius

Polybius is a lunar impact crater in the southeast part of the Moon, and is named after ancient Greek historian Polybius. [1] It is located to the south-southeast of the larger crater Catharina, in the area framed by the Rupes Altai scarp. Some distance to the northeast is the Mare Nectaris, with the flooded craters Beaumont and Fracastorius.

The crater rim of Polybius appears slightly distended in the northeast, and has a cut through the northern wall. But the wall is otherwise moderately intact with only minor erosion. The interior floor is flat and almost featureless, with no central rise. To the south and east, a ray from Tycho cuts across the bowl-shaped Polybius A and Polybius B craterlets.

Satellite craters

Polybius and its satellite craters PolybiusCraterSAT.jpg
Polybius and its 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 Polybius.

PolybiusLatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A23.0° S28.0° E17 km
B25.5° S25.5° E12 km
C22.0° S23.6° E29 km
D26.9° S27.9° E9 km
E24.4° S26.2° E9 km
F22.2° S23.0° E21 km
G22.5° S22.7° E5 km
H21.1° S22.7° E8 km
J22.7° S23.5° E9 km
K24.3° S25.3° E14 km
L22.0° S28.2° E7 km
M21.3° S22.1° E6 km
N23.4° S26.8° E13 km
P21.5° S22.9° E17 km
Q25.1° S27.5° E6 km
R25.6° S27.3° E7 km
T26.1° S25.5° E12 km
V25.2° S29.1° E6 km

Polybius K is sometimes referred to as "Larrieu’s Dam" because the unusually straight northwest rim of the crater creates the appearance of a dam under certain lighting conditions. [2]

Related Research Articles

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

Anaximenes is a low-rimmed lunar impact crater near the north-northwest limb of the Moon. It lies to the west of the crater Philolaus, and northeast of Carpenter. To the northwest is Poncelet, close to the visible edge of the Moon.

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

Birt is a lunar impact crater located in the eastern half of the Mare Nubium and west of the Rupes Recta. It was named after British selenographer William R. Birt.

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

Catharina is an ancient lunar impact crater located in the southern highlands. It was named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It lies in a rugged stretch of land between the Rupes Altai scarp to the west and Mare Nectaris in the east. To the west-northwest is the crater Tacitus, and the lava-flooded Beaumont lies to the east along the shore of Mare Nectaris. To the south-southeast is Polybius.

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

Anderson is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon. It is located to the northwest of the crater Sharonov, and the satellite crater Sharanov X is attached to the southeast rim of Anderson. To the northeast is the peculiar formation Buys-Ballot, and to the east-southeast lies the larger crater Spencer Jones.

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

Tacitus is a lunar impact crater located to the northwest of the crater Catharina, at the northern extension of the Rupes Altai ridge line. It was named after the 1st century Roman historian and writer Tacitus. Directly west is the crater Almanon, and to the northeast is Cyrillus. To the southeast of Tacitus is a long chain of craters named the Catena Abulfeda. This chain runs to the northwest from the eastern edge of the Rupes Altai, continuing for over 200 kilometers.

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

Sacrobosco is an irregular lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged southern highlands to the west of the Rupes Altai escarpment. It is a readily identified feature due to the three circular craters that lie on its floor. The rim of Sacrobosco is heavily worn and eroded, especially in the northeast. The floor is relatively flat in the south, except where overlain by Sacrobosco A and B, but is somewhat irregular in the northeast.

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

Abenezra is a lunar impact crater located in the rugged highlands in the south-central section of the Moon. Abenezra is named after the Sephardic Jewish sage, poet, biblical commentator, astronomer, and astrologer Abraham ibn Ezra. It is attached along the southeast rim to the crater Azophi. To the northeast lies the crater Geber, and further to the southeast is the larger Sacrobosco.

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

Cavendish is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwest part of the Moon, to the southwest of the larger crater Mersenius. It lies between the smaller craters Henry to the west-northwest and de Gasparis to the east-southeast.

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

Alekhin is a lunar impact crater that is located on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the north of the crater Zeeman, and south-southeast of Fizeau. To the west lies Crommelin, and east-southeast is Doerfel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almanon (crater)</span> Lunar crater of caliph Al-Mamun

Almanon is a lunar impact crater that lies in the rugged highlands in the south-central region of the Moon. It was named after Abbasid Caliph and astronomer Al-Ma'mun. It is located to the south-southeast of Abulfeda, and to the north-northeast of the smaller crater Geber. The crater chain designated Catena Abulfeda forms a line between the south rim of Abulfeda and the north rim of Almanon, continuing for a length of about 210 kilometers to the Rupes Altai scarp.

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

Artamonov is a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. Its eroded outer rim does not have the circular shape of most lunar craters, but the overall shape of three or four merged craters. The largest is in the south, with smaller circular bulges to the north and east.

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

Pons is a lunar impact crater that is located to the west of the prominent Rupes Altai scarp. It was named after French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons. It lies to the southeast of the crater Sacrobosco, and southwest of Polybius. To the northwest along the same flank of the formation is the crater Fermat.

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

Dawson is a lunar impact crater that lies on the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. It lies across a crater triplet: the southeast rim is intruding into the crater Alekhin; the northwest rim also intrudes into the larger satellite crater Dawson V, and the northeast rim is attached to the comparably sized Dawson D. To the south of this formation is the large crater Zeeman. West of Dawson is the crater Crommelin, and to the north lies Fizeau.

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

Biela is a lunar impact crater that is located in the rugged highlands of the southeastern Moon. It is named after Austrian astronomer Wilhelm von Biela. The crater lies to the east of Rosenberger, to the southeast of the Watt–Steinheil double crater.

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

Damoiseau is a lunar impact crater that is located just to the west of the Oceanus Procellarum, in the western part of the Moon's near side. It lies due east of the prominent crater Grimaldi, a walled plain with a distinctive dark floor. Due south of Damoiseau is the crater Sirsalis.

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

Chevallier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, about a crater diameter east-southeast of the prominent crater Atlas. To the south-southeast of Chevallier is the flooded crater Shuckburgh.

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

Cichus is a lunar impact crater that lies in the southwestern part of the Moon, at the eastern edge of Palus Epidemiarum. Just to the northeast and nearly contacting the rim is the lava-flooded crater remnant Weiss. The crater is named after Italian astronomer Cecco d'Ascoli.

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

Cockcroft is a lunar impact crater that is situated on the far side of the Moon from the Earth, so that it has only been observed and photographed from orbit. It lies to the northeast of the larger crater Fitzgerald, and southeast of Evershed.

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

Fourier is a lunar impact crater that is located in the southwestern part of the Moon's near side, just to the southeast of the crater Vieta. To the northeast is the Mare Humorum. The rim of this crater is roughly circular, but appears oval when viewed from the Earth due to foreshortening.

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

Rothmann is an impact crater that is located in the southeastern part of the Moon's near side, about one crater diameter to the southwest of the Rupes Altai scarp. To the southwest is the slightly larger crater Lindenau.

References

  1. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Polybius". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union . Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  2. ‘Larrieu’s Dam’; the ‘rediscovery’ of a seldom explored topographical lunar feature in the foothills of the Rupes Altai. Nigel Longshaw. J. Br. Astron. Assoc. 118, 2, 2008.