Posidonius (crater)

Posidonius
	Mosaic of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images
Coordinates	31°53′N29°59′E / 31.88°N 29.99°E Coordinates: 31°53′N29°59′E / 31.88°N 29.99°E
Diameter	95 km
Depth	2.3 km
Colongitude	343° at sunrise
Eponym	Posidonius

Last updated April 28, 2023

Posidonius is a lunar impact crater that is located on the north-eastern edge of Mare Serenitatis, to the south of Lacus Somniorum. It was named after ancient Greek philosopher and geographer Posidonius of Apamea.^[1] The crater Chacornac is attached to the southeast rim, and to the north is Daniell.

Description

The rim of Posidonius is shallow and obscured, especially on the western edge, and the interior has been overlain by a lava flow in the past. The crater ramparts can still be observed to the south and east of the crater rim, and to a lesser degree to the north.

There is a smaller, semi-circular rim of a concentric, flooded crater within the main rim, offset towards the eastern edge. There is no central peak, but the floor is hilly and laced with a rille system named the Rimae Posidonius. The floor is also slightly bulged due to the past lava uplift, which also likely produced the complex of rilles. The northeast rim is interrupted by the smaller crater Posidonius B. Within the crater rim, offset just to the west of center is another smaller crater Posidonius A.

Posidonius is a crater of Upper (Late) Imbrian age.^[2]

On the Mare Serenitatis surface near Posidonius is a notable system of wrinkle ridges that parallel the nearby shore. These are designated the Dorsa Smirnov. At the peak of these ridges is a small crater, Posidonius Y, with a diameter of 2 km. This crater is surrounded by a patch of high-albedo material, its ray system. This peak was formerly designated Posidonius Gamma (γ).

Posidonius Gamma was first observed by the lunar cartographer Julius Schmidt in 1867, who noted the similarity to the bright patch surrounding the crater Linné.^[3]

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 Posidonius.

Posidonius	Coordinates	Diameter, km
A	31°41′N29°31′E / 31.69°N 29.52°E / 31.69; 29.52 (Posidonius A)	11.1
B	33°10′N31°01′E / 33.16°N 31.02°E / 33.16; 31.02 (Posidonius B)	14.1
C	31°08′N29°41′E / 31.13°N 29.69°E / 31.13; 29.69 (Posidonius C)	3.5
E	30°33′N19°42′E / 30.55°N 19.7°E / 30.55; 19.7 (Posidonius E)	3.1
F	32°49′N27°08′E / 32.82°N 27.13°E / 32.82; 27.13 (Posidonius F)	6.0
G	34°47′N27°14′E / 34.79°N 27.23°E / 34.79; 27.23 (Posidonius G)	4.8
J	33°48′N30°47′E / 33.8°N 30.79°E / 33.8; 30.79 (Posidonius J)	22.0
M	34°22′N30°01′E / 34.36°N 30.01°E / 34.36; 30.01 (Posidonius M)	9.3
N	29°42′N21°02′E / 29.7°N 21.04°E / 29.7; 21.04 (Posidonius N)	6.2
P	33°36′N27°35′E / 33.6°N 27.58°E / 33.6; 27.58 (Posidonius P)	14.7
W	31°39′N20°08′E / 31.65°N 20.13°E / 31.65; 20.13 (Posidonius W)	3.0
Y	30°02′N24°55′E / 30.03°N 24.91°E / 30.03; 24.91 (Posidonius Y)	2.0
Z	30°45′N22°57′E / 30.75°N 22.95°E / 30.75; 22.95 (Posidonius Z)	5.9

Related Research Articles

Pitatus is an ancient lunar impact crater located at the southern edge of Mare Nubium. It was named after Italian astronomer Pietro Pitati by the IAU in 1935. Joined to the northwest rim is the crater Hesiodus, and the two are joined by a narrow cleft. To the south lie the attached Wurzelbauer and Gauricus.

Plinius is a prominent lunar impact crater on the border between Mare Serenitatis to the north and Mare Tranquilitatis to the south. Its diameter is 41 km. The crater is named after the Roman natural scientist and author Pliny the Elder. To the south-southeast of Plinius is the crater Ross, and to the northeast is Dawes. Just to the north is a system of rilles named the Rimae Plinius and touching it is the Brackett crater which is more than a crater diameter north. At the northwest edge of the rille is the Promontorium Archerusia, a cape off the western rim that encloses the Mare Serenitatis.

Chacornac is an irregular lunar impact crater attached to the southeast rim of the crater Posidonius. It lies just to the east of the Mare Serenitatis, and north of the crater Le Monnier. The crater is named after French astronomer Jean Chacornac.

Daniell is a lunar impact crater located in the southern half of the Lacus Somniorum. To the south-southeast is the much larger crater Posidonius. The Rimae Daniell rille system are to the west of Daniell 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.

Menelaus is a young lunar impact crater located on the southern shore of Mare Serenitatis near the eastern end of the Montes Hæmus mountain range. Its diameter is 27 km. To the southwest is the small crater Auwers, and to the west-southwest is the even smaller Daubrée. To the northeast is a faint rille system named the Rimae Menelaus.

Brackett is a small lunar impact crater that lies near the southeast edge of Mare Serenitatis. The crater is named after American physicist Frederick Sumner Brackett. The crater has been covered by lava flow, leaving only a ring-shaped trace in the surrounding lunar mare. This crater is best observed under oblique illumination, as it is otherwise difficult to find. The southern rim is almost contacting a rille system named the Rimae Plinius.

Sirsalis is a relatively young lunar impact crater located near the western lunar limb, to the southwest of the Oceanus Procellarum. The crater lies across a ridge that runs in a north–south direction. It has a sharp edge and a low central peak. The crater overlaps the slightly larger and older Sirsalis A to the west-southwest, and the two form a distinctive feature.

Clerke is a tiny lunar impact crater named after Irish astronomer Agnes Mary Clerke, who played a role in bringing astronomy and astrophysics to the public in Victorian England. It is located near the eastern edge of Mare Serenitatis in the midst of a rille system named the Rimae Littrow after the crater Littrow to the east. It is roughly circular and cup-shaped, with a relatively high albedo. In a valley to the southeast is the landing site of the Apollo 17 mission. Clerke was previously designated Littrow B.

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

Ariadaeus is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater on the western shores of Mare Tranquillitatis. It lies to the north of the crater Dionysius, and to the west-southwest of Arago. The crater is joined along the northeast rim by the slightly smaller Ariadaeus A, and the two form a double-crater. Its diameter is 10.4 km.

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

Goclenius is a lunar impact crater that is located near the west edge of Mare Fecunditatis. It lies to the southeast of the lava-flooded crater Gutenberg, and north of Magelhaens. To the northwest is a parallel rille system that follow a course toward the northwest, running for a length of up to 240 kilometers. This feature is named the Rimae Goclenius.

Hippalus is the remnant of a lunar impact crater on the eastern edge of Mare Humorum. It was named after ancient Greek explorer Hippalus. To the southeast is the crater Campanus, and to the northwest is the small flooded crater Loewy.

Prinz is the lava-flooded remains of a lunar impact crater on the Oceanus Procellarum. It was named after German-Belgian astronomer Wilhelm Prinz. The formation lies to the southwest of the prominent crater Aristarchus. To the north-northeast is the flooded crater Krieger.

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

This Is The Crater Earth Where We Really Live... Sulpicius Gallus is a small, bowl-shaped lunar impact crater that lies near the southwestern edge of the Mare Serenitatis. The crater is named after the 2nd century BC Roman astronomer Gaius Sulpicius Gallus.

De Vico is a small lunar impact crater that is located in the southwest part of the Moon, to the south of the crater Sirsalis. To the west-northwest is Crüger. De Vico is a circular, bowl-shaped formation with a small, flat bottom at the midpoint. To the northwest is the lava-flooded remains of De Vico T. Beyond is a linear rille designated Rimae Sirsalis that follows a path to the northeast past the rim of Sirsalis.

Parry is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the southeast rim of the walled plain Fra Mauro. It was named after British explorer William Parry. Attached to the west and southwest rim of Parry is the crater Bonpland. Due south of Parry is the small crater Tolansky, and farther to the south-southwest is Guericke.

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.

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.

Capuanus is a lunar impact crater that lies along the southern edge of the Palus Epidemiarum. It was named after Italian astronomer F. Capuano di Manfredonia. The outer rim is eroded and indented by lesser crater impacts, with notches in the north, west, and southern parts of the rim. The interior floor has been resurfaced by basaltic lava, which is connected to the surrounding lunar mare by a narrow, crater-formed gap in the northern rim. Dotting the floor of the crater are a number of domes, which are believed to have formed through volcanic activity.

Maclear is a lava-flooded crater on the northwest part of the Mare Tranquillitatis, a lunar mare in the eastern half of the Moon. Its diameter is 20 km. The crater is located to the southwest of the slightly larger Ross. To the southwest of Maclear is Sosigenes, while farther to the south-southeast is Arago.

References

↑ "Posidonius (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
↑ 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 11.2.
↑ Elger T. G. (1895). The Moon. A Full Description and Map of its Principal Physical Features. London: Georg Philip & Son. p. 160. (In this book, east on the Moon is called "west" according to terminology of that time).

Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A. (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097.
Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 978-0-936389-27-1.
McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report . Retrieved 2007-10-24.
Menzel, D. H.; Minnaert, M.; Levin, B.; Dollfus, A.; Bell, B. (1971). "Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU". Space Science Reviews. 12 (2): 136–186. Bibcode:1971SSRv...12..136M. doi:10.1007/BF00171763. S2CID 122125855.
Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-33500-3.
Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-913135-17-4.
Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3.
Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1.

External links

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter pages with images:
- Plescia J. (2013-02-05). "Meanders in Posidonius". NASA/GSFC/LROC, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University. Archived from the original on 2018-01-30. - especially on the rille Rimae Posidonius
- Braden S. (2011-10-25). "Posidonius Y". NASA/GSFC/LROC, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University. Archived from the original on 2017-10-05.
- Ostrach L. (2010-12-01). "Rimae Posidonius". NASA/GSFC/LROC, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University. Archived from the original on 2018-05-31.

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[1] "Posidonius (crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

[2] 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 11.2.

[Elger_1895-3] Elger T. G. (1895). The Moon. A Full Description and Map of its Principal Physical Features. London: Georg Philip & Son. p. 160. (In this book, east on the Moon is called "west" according to terminology of that time).

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Mosaic of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images
Coordinates	31°53′N29°59′E / 31.88°N 29.99°E / 31.88; 29.99 Coordinates: 31°53′N29°59′E / 31.88°N 29.99°E / 31.88; 29.99
Diameter	95 km
Depth	2.3 km
Colongitude	343° at sunrise
Eponym	Posidonius