December 27, 2014

Sculpted Floor

north to the right image by Gari Arrillaga, Tarragona, Spain
Originally published on Sept 27, 2013.

I have seen a lot of wonderful images of Petavius but this is unlike any of the previous ones. The illumination is low enough to highlight numerous hills that we have seen before but not with such a sense of topograpgic clarity. The southern half of the floor, which often looks relatively smooth, is seen to have long wavelength undulations than make up a different type of relief than the hills. Gari's images clarifies something else we have discussed before: The main mass of its floor is higher than its edges. This images shows a well- defined trough with lava-covered floor from the north around at least to the northeast. The southeast edge of the floor also appears low but it isn't filled with smooth material. The LRO QuickMap altimetry confirms the lowness of these edges but not nearly as dramatically as this image.

Chuck Wood

Related Links
21st Century Atlas chart 4.
Gari's website

Yesterday's LPOD: Picture of the Year

Tomorrow's LPOD: An Elusive Globe

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