Ptolemy (moon crater)
| Ptolemy | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Ptolemy taken by Apollo 16 | ||
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| position | 9.12 ° S , 1.85 ° W | |
| diameter | 158 km | |
| Card sheet | 77 (PDF) | |
| Named after | Claudius Ptolemy | |
| Named since | 1935 | |
| Unless otherwise stated, the information comes from the entry in the IAU / USGS database | ||
The lunar crater Ptolemaeus - an extensive, 150 km large whale plain - lies almost in the middle of the half of the moon visible from earth . It is located in a weakly cratered region between the Sinus Medii and Mare Nubium levels .
Together with the lunar craters Alphonsus and Arzachel , it forms a kind of triumvirate in the middle of the lunar disk. The strikingly smooth whale plane of Ptolemaeus exactly follows the curvature of the moon and is completely filled with lava , but has no central mountain . The crater wall towers over the plain about 2400 m high. Later impacts created a number of smaller craters inside , of which a deeper one with a diameter of 9 km is best visible and was named Ammonius . A heavily eroded " ghost crater " can be seen directly north of it when the sun is low (see terminator ) .
Ptolemy is the oldest crater in this region. Its plain is also partially covered by ejection from the impact that created the Alphonsus crater. The edges of Ptolemaeus and Alphonsus are cut by a striking system of parallel ridges and ditches called the " Imbrium Sculpture " because it radiates from the Mare Imbrium .
| Letter | position | diameter | link |
|---|---|---|---|
| B. | 7.92 ° S , 0.85 ° W | 19 km | [1] |
| C. | 10.12 ° S , 3.33 ° W | 2 km | [2] |
| D. | 8.3 ° S , 2.65 ° W | 4 km | [3] |
| E. | 10.32 ° S , 4.53 ° W | 27 km | [4] |
| G | 7.17 ° S , 0 ° E | 7 km | [5] |
| H | 7.13 ° S , 5.49 ° W | 7 km | [6] |
| J | 9.67 ° S , 5.44 ° W | 5 km | [7] |
| K | 8.24 ° S , 4.73 ° W | 8 kilometers | [8th] |
| L. | 8.87 ° S , 4.06 ° W | 3 km | [9] |
| M. | 9.41 ° S , 3.47 ° W | 3 km | [10] |
| O | 7.25 ° S , 3.64 ° W | 4 km | [11] |
| P | 11.41 ° S , 3.23 ° W | 5 km | [12] |
| R. | 6.67 ° S , 1.21 ° W | 7 km | [13] |
| S. | 10.55 ° S , 0.56 ° W | 4 km | [14] |
| T | 7.49 ° S , 0.02 ° W | 8 kilometers | [15] |
| W. | 9.16 ° S , 1.28 ° E | 4 km | [16] |
| X | 11.04 ° S , 0.24 ° E | 5 km | [17] |
| Y | 9.38 ° S , 0.67 ° E | 6 km | [18] |
Web links
- Ptolemaeus in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature of the IAU (WGPSN) / USGS
