Sulpicius Gallus (crater)

Last updated
Sulpicius Gallus
SulpiciusGallusCrater.jpg
LRO image
Coordinates 19°38′N11°41′E / 19.63°N 11.68°E / 19.63; 11.68
Diameter 12 km
Depth 2.2 km
Colongitude 349° at sunrise
Eponym Gaius Sulpicius Gallus
The crater area in selenochromatic format (Si). More infos here : https://www.gawh.it/main/selenocromatica Posidonius-Agrippa Si - Aldo Ferruggia.jpg
The crater area in selenochromatic format (Si). More infos here : https://www.gawh.it/main/selenocromatica

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. [1]

Contents

About 10 kilometers to the south and east is the Montes Haemus range that forms the edge of the Serenitatis basin. This crater has a relatively high albedo, with a sharp-edged rim that displays little appearance of wear. There is a small rise at the midpoint. Recent deposits of highland material have been observed within the crater interior. This material was observed to be orange by Apollo 17 astronauts during their LMP ascent. [2]

Rimae Sulpicius Gallus Rimae Sulpicius Gallus crater AS15-M-1812.jpg
Rimae Sulpicius Gallus

To the northwest is a rille system designated the Rimae Sulpicius Gallus. These extend to the northwest for a distance of about 90 kilometers, curving and branching out to follow the edge of the mare.

Satellite craters

Satellite craters of Sulpicius Gallus taken from Earth in 2012 at the University of Hertfordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory with the telescopes Meade LX200 14" and Lumenera Skynyx 2-1 SulpiciusGallus lunar crater map.jpg
Satellite craters of Sulpicius Gallus taken from Earth in 2012 at the University of Hertfordshire's Bayfordbury Observatory with the telescopes Meade LX200 14" and Lumenera Skynyx 2-1

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

Apollo 15 Mapping camera image Sulpicius Gallus crater AS15-M-1812.jpg
Apollo 15 Mapping camera image
Sulpicius
Gallus
LatitudeLongitudeDiameter
A22.1° N8.9° E4 km
B18.0° N13.0° E7 km
G19.8° N6.3° E6 km
H20.6° N5.7° E5 km
M20.4° N8.7° E5 km

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montes Haemus</span> Mountain range on the Moon

Montes Haemus is a mountain range that forms the southwestern edge of the Mare Serenitatis basin on the Moon. They form a less prominent mirror image of the Montes Apenninus range to the west, and curve up to nearly join at the northern end. The eastern edge terminates with the Promontorium Archerusia, to the northwest of the crater Plinius. This end reaches a gap where the Mare Serenitatis to the north joins the Mare Tranquillitatis to the south.

<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">Plinius (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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. The crater Chacornac is attached to the southeast rim, and to the north is Daniell.

<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">Petavius (crater)</span> Lunar impact crater

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.

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

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">Bode (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Bode is a small crater located near the central region of the Moon, to the northwest of the joined craters Pallas and Murchison. It lies on a region of raised surface between the Mare Vaporum to the northeast, Sinus Aestuum to the west, and Sinus Medii to the southeast. The crater was named after German astronomer Johann Elert Bode.

<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">Boscovich (crater)</span> Crater on the Moon

Boscovich is a lunar impact crater that has been almost completely eroded away by subsequent impacts. It is located west-northwest of the crater Julius Caesar, and south-southeast of the prominent Manilius. The crater floor has a low albedo, and the dark hue makes it relatively easy to recognize. The surface is crossed by the rille system designated Rimae Boscovich that extends for a diameter of 40 kilometres. The crater is named after Croatian physicist Roger Joseph Boscovich.

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

Dionysius is a lunar impact crater that lies on the western edge of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It was named after Dionysius the Areopagite. To the southeast is the crater pair of Ritter and Sabine. Just to the northwest is the system of rilles designated Rimae Ritter. These clefts follow a generally northwest direction.

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

Littrow is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon's near side, on the east edge of Mare Serenitatis. Its diameter is 29 km. The crater is named after Bohemian astronomer Joseph Johann von Littrow (1781–1840). Some distance to the northeast is the prominent crater Römer, while to the south is Vitruvius.

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

Sosigenes is a lunar impact crater on the west edge of Mare Tranquillitatis. Its diameter is 17 km. It was named after ancient Greek astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria. It lies to the east of the large walled plain Julius Caesar. The crater rim has a high albedo, making it relatively bright. It has a small central rise at the midpoint of the floor.

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

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.

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

Cayley is a small lunar impact crater that is located in a lava-flooded region to the west of Mare Tranquillitatis. It was named after the 19th-century English mathematician Arthur Cayley. It lies to the northwest of the smaller crater De Morgan and the larger D'Arrest. West and slightly north of Cayley is Whewell, a crater of about the same dimensions. To the north is a linear rille designated Rima Ariadaeus, which follows a course to the east-southeast.

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

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.

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

Dunthorne is a small lunar impact crater that is located to the northwest of the small lunar mare called Palus Epidemiarum, in the southwest part of the Moon's near side. It was named after British astronomer Richard Dunthorne. It lies to the southwest of the crater Campanus, east of Vitello. Due south is Ramsden.

References

  1. "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature | Sulpicius Gallus". usgs.gov. International Astronomical Union . Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  2. "Apollo 17 - Technical air-to-ground voice transcriptions" (PDF). nasa.gov. December 1972. Retrieved September 13, 2022.

Further reading