February 15, 2014
Little Rheitas
image by " rel="nofollow Avani Soares, Brazil
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There are two major observing targets here - Janssen and the Rheita Valley - and yet I am drawn to small features between them. Notice the alignment of the bottom end of the Valley and then look to the left for more linear features oriented in the same direction. The excerpt at left from Avani's image highlights five other small crater chains aligned in the same direction as the end of the Rheita Valley. All of these crater chains are from the formation of the Nectaris Basin. A real question is why are the Rheita Valley and the Snellius Valley so much larger than the other chains from this basin? Another question might be why does the far side of the Orientale Basin have so many large crater chains and the nearside has very few. Finally, did Imbrium also create large basin chains, and if so, why aren't they very visible, since Imbrium formed more recently than Nectaris?
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