November 8, 2014
Most Famous Crater of SE Quadrant?
image by Paolo R. Lazzarotti, Italy
Janssen is an odd crater. It has a non-circular outline which causes uncertainty in how many overlapping craters form it. The fresh crater Fabricius - in shadow here - smashed into Janssen's northern floor, and the broad elevated area to its south may be material displaced by its formation. The elevated area - perhaps a dome? - is cut by Janssen's famous curved rille, which becomes much thinner and does not seem to be part of the broader rille. Rilles in highland material are very unusual - perhaps the rilles cut ejecta from the formation of the Nectaris Basin. Northwest of the broad rille are two to three overlapping degraded craters that probably are basin secondaries, also from Nectaris.
Chuck Wood
Technical Details
Here is a full resolution view of this image.
Related Links
21st Century Atlas chart 5.
Paolo's website
Yesterday's LPOD: Piercing the Rings
Tomorrow's LPOD: Return View
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