Daedalus (crater)

Daedalus

The lunar farside crater Daedalus from Apollo 11. NASA photo.
Coordinates 5°54′S 179°24′E / 5.9°S 179.4°E / -5.9; 179.4Coordinates: 5°54′S 179°24′E / 5.9°S 179.4°E / -5.9; 179.4
Diameter 93 km
Depth 3.0 km
Colongitude 181° at sunrise
Eponym Daedalus
Lunar Orbiter 2 image
Closeup of the interior from Apollo 11

Daedalus is a prominent crater located near the center of the far side of the Moon. The inner wall is terraced, and there is a cluster of central peaks on the relatively flat floor. Because of its location (shielded from radio emissions from the Earth), it has been proposed as the site of a future giant radio telescope, which would be scooped out of the crater itself, much like the Arecibo radio telescope, but on a vastly larger scale.

The crater is named after Daedalus of Greek myth. It is pictured in famous photographs taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts. In contemporary sources it was called "Crater 308" (this was a temporary IAU designation that preceded the establishment of far-side lunar nomenclature).

Nearby craters of note include Icarus to the east and Racah to the south. Less than a crater diameter to the north-northeast is Lipskiy.

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 Daedalus.

Daedalus Latitude Longitude Diameter
B 4.1° S 179.8° W 23 km
C 4.1° S 178.9° W 68 km
G 6.6° S 177.4° W 33 km
K 8.3° S 178.5° W 24 km
M 8.1° S 179.5° E 13 km
R 7.7° S 175.2° E 41 km
S 6.8° S 172.9° E 20 km
U 4.2° S 174.9° E 30 km
W 3.5° S 177.5° E 70 km

See also

References

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  • Blue, Jennifer (July 25, 2007). "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature". USGS. Retrieved 2007-08-05. 
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  • McDowell, Jonathan (July 15, 2007). "Lunar Nomenclature". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 2007-10-24. 
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  • Webb, Rev. T. W. (1962). Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes (6th revised ed.). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-20917-3. 
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  • Wlasuk, Peter T. (2000). Observing the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-1-85233-193-1. 
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