August 27, 2013
Rille Cut
image by Wes Higgins, Oklahoma
Craters can be degraded by erosion and burial by ejecta and lava flows. But the craters in this image of the northeast sector of the Nectaris Basin
have been lanced by rilles. Gutenberg, the 74 km wide crater at center-right, is cut by one of the Goclenius Rilles that also cut Goclenius (bottom
right) and nearby Mare Fecunditatis. It is surprising that only one of the three parallel rilles in Fecunditatis continues on the floor of Goclenius; Is the
lava there younger than that in the mare? At top-left is Capella, one of the most famous cut craters. But it is not a rille that slices across Capella, it
is a crater chain. The chain is approximately radial to the Serenitatis Basin, but it would be surprising if that old basin was the source. Finally, there
are two other bizarre craters here because of the material inside them. Gutenberg G (above Gutenberg) seems to be filled by ejecta with only the rim
and central peak visible. And Gaudibert - bottom left) is full of chunky blocks that must be ejecta but doesn't look like it.
Chuck Wood
Note: While researching something else I came across this image and thought it was too magnificent to only appear in LPOD onece, so here it is again
from Oct 26, 2008.
Technical Details
09/18/08. 18" Reflector + Infinity 2-1m camera, MAP -161X64, stack of 121 frames.
Related Links
21st Century Atlas chart 7.
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