Philolaus (crater)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Crater characteristics
Location of Philolaus crater.
Coordinates	72.1° N, 32.4° W
Diameter	70 km
Depth	3.4 km
Colongitude	30° at sunrise
Eponym	Philolaus

Philolaus is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northern part of the Moon's near side. It lies within one crater diameter to the east-southeast of the flooded Anaximenes crater, and to the west of the smaller Anaxagoras crater. It overlays the older and heavily worn 'Philolaus C' to the south.

This crater retains a well-defined form that has not changed significantly since it was originally created. The outer rim edge is roughly circular, but with a somewhat irregular edge that displays signs of slumping. The most notable slum is a triangular area along the eastern rim. The inner wall of the crater has a complex system of terraces with a sharp-edged rim in locations where slumping has occurred. On the exterior of the rim is an outer rampart that extends outward nearly half a crater diameter in all directions.

The interior floor is irregular with rough areas about the center and to the northeast. There is no single central peak, but rather a pair of peaks offset to the south and the east of the middle. There is also a smaller ridge pair offset to the northwest. The flattest part of the interior floor is in the northeast of the crater interior. The floor is not significantly marked by impacts.

[edit] Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater mid-point that is closest to Philolaus crater.

Philolaus	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
B	69.6° N	24.3° W	11 km
C	71.1° N	32.7° W	95 km
D	73.9° N	27.8° W	91 km
E	69.6° N	18.7° W	12 km
F	68.1° N	18.3° W	8 km
G	69.0° N	23.6° W	95 km
U	75.0° N	33.0° W	13 km
W	75.6° N	35.9° W	17 km

[edit] References

• Andersson, L. E.; Whitaker, E. A., (1982). NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature. NASA RP-1097. 
• Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
• Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81528-2. 
• Cocks, Elijah E.; Cocks, Josiah C. (1995). Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature. Tudor Publishers. ISBN 0-936389-27-3. 
• McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). Lunar Nomenclature. Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved on 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: 136. 
• Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-304-35469-4. 
• Price, Fred W. (1988). The Moon Observer's Handbook. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521335000. 
• Rükl, Antonín (1990). Atlas of the Moon. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 0-913135-17-8. 
• Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, 6th revision, Dover. ISBN 0-486-20917-2. 
• Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62248-4. 
• Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 1852331933.