October 16, 2010

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Ostrich Egg

LPOD-Oct16-10.jpg
south up image by Wes Higgins

I have always been fascinated by Alpetragius because it is such a weird crater. The round mound of a central peak is surrounded by nearly smooth walls, creating what Gerard Kuiper likened to an egg in a nest, and Ewen Whitaker quipped that if it is an egg, its an ostrich egg. It is odd that the rim crest is quite sharp and the wall slumps are so continuous all around the rim. Wes' image captures the smoothed top of the slump masses, and a small nose-like bump on the side of the peak. Our depictions of the crater have greatly improved over the last 50 years but the reason for its unusual interior remains enigmatic.

Chuck Wood

Technical Details
09-30-10. 5:26 CDT (10:26 UT). 18 Inch Reflector + 4x Powermate + 680nm IR pass filter + Infinity 2-1M + Avistack, Registax V5, ImagesPlus, Photoshop CS4.

Related Links
Rükl plate 55
Wes' spectacular full mosaic that this was snipped from.


Yesterday's LPOD: The Case of the Missing Rille

Tomorrow's LPOD: Hooray!


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