These three ancient, large impact craters lie on the north eastern shores [
http://www.lunarrep…] of Mare Nubium, the lunar [
http://www.fourmila…maria.html ] Sea of Clouds. Along the top of the stark mosaic [
http://www.avertedi…] (left to right) are the namesakes of [
http://www.cityastr…] Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel. The picture offers a remarkably detailed view of the well-studied [ http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Alphonsus_( crater) ] region with shadows emphasizing the large crater central peaks and slumping walls. Careful examination also reveals the 110 kilometer long Straight Wall [
http://www.salzgebe…], a fault 200-300 meters high, and the intriguing Davy crater chain [
http://www.lpi.usra…3dsolarsystem/slide_ 17.html ]. Overall, the striking moonscape is similar to the final images recorded by the Ranger 9 [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…MasterCatalog?sc=196 5-023A ] spacecraft, before it crashed into the 108 kilometer wide crater Alphonsus in [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] March of 1965.
Explanation
These three ancient, large impact craters lie on the north eastern shores [
http://www.lunarrep…] of Mare Nubium, the lunar [
http://www.fourmila…maria.html ] Sea of Clouds. Along the top of the stark mosaic [
http://www.avertedi…] (left to right) are the namesakes of [
http://www.cityastr…] Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel. The picture offers a remarkably detailed view of the well-studied [ http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Alphonsus_( crater) ] region with shadows emphasizing the large crater central peaks and slumping walls. Careful examination also reveals the 110 kilometer long Straight Wall [
http://www.salzgebe…], a fault 200-300 meters high, and the intriguing Davy crater chain [
http://www.lpi.usra…3dsolarsystem/slide_ 17.html ]. Overall, the striking moonscape is similar to the final images recorded by the Ranger 9 [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…MasterCatalog?sc=196 5-023A ] spacecraft, before it crashed into the 108 kilometer wide crater Alphonsus in [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] March of 1965.
Explanation
