July 14, 2013
Discovery, History And Shadow Drama
image by Damian Peach, Souni, Cyprus
Does this remind you, as it does me, of the Nasmyth and Carpenter low illumination photos of plaster models? We've come a long way since their 1874 book but the Moon remains unchanged in its allure and surprises. The allure is obvious here, a rim that dips towards the Humorum Basin, and massive central peaks that cast shadows over a hilly and ridged floor, cut and cross-cut by many rilles. Gassendi is a classic floor-fractured crater, with the addition of a large landslide caused by the formation of Gassendi A on the north rim. Just east of A is an odd, almost donut-shaped mound about the same diameter as A. Even though I know better I always think of the mound as the rock removed by the formation of A, not widely spread as ejecta but tidely set aside. A real surprise is a short rille I've never noticed before - it is just east of the mound in a little embayment of lava. A check of the LRO Quickmap confirms it, including the short perpendicular bit shown in Damian's excellent image.
Chuck Wood
Technical Details
April 21, 2013. Celestron 356mm (14") reflector. ASI120MM.
Related Links
21st Century Atlas chart 23.
Damian's 2013 images from Cyprus.
Yesterday's LPOD: No
Tomorrow's LPOD: Polar Crater Hopping
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